Vocational  Preparation  of 
Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 


UC-NRLF 


.NETTE,  O.S.B.,  MA. 

[,  MINNESOTA 


A  DISSERTATION 

ie  Catholic  Sisters  College  of  the  Catholic  University 
ica  in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements 
for  the  Degree  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 
June,  1918 


EXCHANGE 


Vocational  Preparation  of 
Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 


BT 

( 
SISTER  MARY  JEANETTE,  O.S.B.,  M.A. 

ST.   JOSEPH,   MINNESOTA 


A  DISSERTATION 

Submitted  to  the  Catholic  Sisters  College  of  the  Catholic  University 

of  America  in  Partial  Fulfillment  of  the  Requirements 

for  the  Degree  Doctor  of  Philosophy 


WASHINGTON.  D.  C. 
June,  1018 


CONTENTS 

PACK 

Preface 5 

Chapter  I. — Causes  Leading  to  the  Introduction  of  Voca- 
tional Education  in  the  State  Schools 7 

An  Outline  of  the  Movement  toward  Vocational  Education 

in  State  Schools 15 

An  Outline  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Movement 20 

Chapter  II. — An  Outline  of  the  History  of  Vocational  Edu- 
cation in  Catholic  Schools 27 

Chapter  III. — Ways  and  Means  of  Improvement  in  the 
Development    and    Guidance    of    Vocation    in    Catholic 

Schools 47 

Conclusion    69 

Bibliography 70 


PREFACE 

The  movement  towards  attaining  and  improving  vocational 
education  in  the  state  schools  has  made  rapid  progress  in  the 
last  two  decades.  It  grew  from  the  conviction  that  the  large 
majority  of  pupils  received  no  adequate  preparation  for  their 
life-work,  as  only  a  small  percentage  availed  themselves  of  the 
opportunities  afforded  by  secondary  schools.  The  danger  to 
which  a  large  number  of  these  children  was  exposed  after 
leaving  school  at  an  early  age,  grew  to  be  a  menace  to  individual 
and  industrial  development.  Many  educators  sought  the 
remedy  for  this  evil  in  a  radical  change  of  the  educational 
system,  and  a  course  of  study  so  arranged  as  to  afford  to  the 
pupils  a  preparation  for  their  career.  On  the  other  hand 
there  were  those  who  strenuously  opposed  this  movement  be- 
cause they  considered  it  undemocratic  and  tending  to  the  for- 
mation of  a  caste  system.  The  attempt  to  reconcile  these  two 
extremes  has  caused  the  introduction  of  vocational  education 
in  addition  to  the  usual  courses  offered  by  secondary  schools, 
and  resulted  in  the  creation  of  our  ever-increasing  number  of 
vocational  schools. 

A  study  of  the  history  of  Monastic  schools  reveals  the  fact 
that  these  afforded  excellent  opportunity  for  vocational  train- 
ing; but  their  motive  and  aim  in  preparing  their  pupils  for 
life's  work  was  not,  like  that  of  our  modern  state  schools,  pri- 
marily utilitarian.  The  success  achieved  in  art  and  industry 
was  due  largely  to  the  motivation  that  inspired  the  students  of 
Monastic  schools  to  exert  all  their  powers  in  the  realization  of 
their  high  ideals.  The  influence  of  St.  Benedict  and  his  fol- 
lowers changed  the  then  prevalent  attitude  toward  labor, 
invested  manual  work  with  the  dignity  of  prayer,  and  brought 
untold  blessings  upon  the  people. 

In  the  course  of  time  other  agencies  undertook  the  voca- 
tional training  of  children  and  continued  to  do  so  until  re- 
cently. In  the  last  few  decades,  however,  the  social  environ- 
ment of  the  child  has  undergone  a  decided  change.  Again  it 
devolves  upon  the  school  to  offer  to  the  pupil  sensory-motor 
training  in  addition  to  the  training  of  the  mind  and  heart. 
The  same  problem  that  confronts  the  state  schools  must  also  be 


6       Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

solved  by  Catholic  teachers.  The  limited  resources  of  the 
Catholic  schools  render  it  more  difficult  for  them  to  provide 
industrial  training.  In  the  state  schools  the  financial  burden 
is  considerably  lightened  by  state  and  federal  aid.  However, 
Catholic  educators  are  anxious  to  provide  our  pupils  with 
every  advantage  that  can  be  secured,  and  it  is  their  ambition 
that  the  pupils  attending  Catholic  schools  receive  the  very  best 
preparation  for  their  future  work.  It  is  the  purpose  of  this 
dissertation  to  indicate  the  causes  and  outline  the  history  of 
the  vocational  education  and  vocational  guidance  in  the  state 
schools;  to  compare  the  motives  that  prompt  this  movement 
with  the  motives  that  prevailed  in  the  Monastic  schools ;  and  to 
indicate  ways  and  means  which  are  available  for  the  develop- 
ment and  guidance  of  vocation  in  our  Catholic  schools. 

The  term  "vocation"  has  at  the  present  time  a  variety  of 
meanings.  Literally  it  means  a  calling,  as  does  the  Latin 
"vocatio"  from  which  it  is  derived.  This  meaning  is  retained 
in  the  Catholic  Church,  where  the  call  to  the  religious  life  is 
designated  as  a  vocation.  By  modern  writers  and  educators 
it  is  used  to  denote  a  career,  an  occupation;  and  by  some 
authors  it  has  even  been  restricted  to  those  occupations  in 
which  manual  and  industrial  laborers  are  employed.  In  its 
widest  sense  vocation  is  a  call  to  the  life-work  of  each  individ- 
ual, whether  this  be  to  serve  God  in  religion  or  in  the  most 
humble  occupation. 

The  teaching  of  the  Church,  the  history  of  her  institutions, 
the  example  of  the  saints,  but  above  all  the  Christ-Child,  are 
the  guides  of  the  Catholic  teacher  in  the  sublime  work  of 
vocational  preparation  of  youth. 


CHAPTER  I 

CAUSES  LEADING  TO  THE  INTRODUCTION  OF  VOCATIONAL 
EDUCATION  IN  THE   STATE  SCHOOLS 

The  Centennial  Exposition  at  Philadelphia  caused  American 
manufacturers  to  compare  our  products  with  those  of  other 
countries.1  This  comparison  revealed  the  fact  that  only  the 
abundant  resources  which  our  country  commands  enable  us 
to  compete  in  the  markets  of  the  world  with  goods  produced 
in  Europe.  In  every  instance  of  successful  competition  this  has 
been  due,  not  to  superior  handicraft,  but  to  the  abundance  of 
cheap  raw  material  easily  obtained  in  America.  Each  suc- 
ceeding year,  however,  it  became  more  apparent  that  the 
supremacy  in  international  trade  rests  on  the  basis  of  manual 
skill.  Schools  for  art  in  industry  were  established  soon  after 
the  above-mentioned  exposition,  and  a  decade  later  manual 
training  schools  came  into  existence  in  manufacturing  cities. 
Though  an  improvement  on  the  system  then  prevailing,  these 
were  unsatisfactory  in  regard  to  the  purpose  for  which  they 
had  been  planned  because  what  was  taught  in  the  manual 
training  school  was  not  sufficiently  related  to  the  specific 
occupation  in  which  the  child  would  later  be  engaged.  Here 
we  find  the  first  incentive  to  vocational  training  in  the  state 
school  system  of  our  country;  it  was  the  need  of  better 
trained  workers  that  suggested  the  schools  as  a  means  to  supply 
the  required  skill. 

Meanwhile  the  complaints  about  the  school  system  increased 
in  number  and  intensity.  Employers  claimed  that  pupils  com- 
ing from  the  schools  lacked  initiative,  intellectual  capacity, 
and  habits  of  order  and  promptness — qualifications  which  are 
necessary  for  success  in  their  work.  A  similar  complaint  came 
from  the  higher  institutions  of  learning,  the  universities  and 
colleges.  Parents  complained,  saying  that  even  if  they  were 
willing  to  make  sacrifices  so  as  to  afford  the  children  a  pro- 
longed term  of  training  and  education,  it  did  not  secure  for 
the  children  any  advantage  in  their  future  career,  but  on  the 
contrary,  often  served  to  "train  them  away  from  the  forge  and 
the  shop." 

'Bulletin,  1916,  No.  21. — Vocational  Secondary  Education,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  p.  10. 


8       Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

The  most  alarming  feature  was  the  tendency  of  the  pupils 
to  leave  school  at  the  first  opportunity  that  presented  itself. 
They  were  convinced  that  the  education  received  in  the  school- 
room was  not  adapted  to  their  future  needs,  and  too  often  there 
was  sufficient  reason  for  this  conviction.  The  school  failed  to 
attract  the  child,  and  compulsory  education  laws  were  neces- 
sary to  secure  attendance  until  the  child  had  reached  at  least 
the  age  of  fourteen  years.  Practically  100  per  cent  of  the 
pupils  remain  in  school  up  to  that  age,  but  50  per  cent  leave 
school  at  the  age  of  fourteen  years.2  At  this  period  of  the 
child's  life  home  restraints  become  weaker,  in  many  cases  all 
authority  over  the  child  and  power  of  guidance  is  lost.3  The 
industries  offer  little  by  way  of  training  or  advancement 
before  the  age  of  sixteen  and  little  by  way  of  financial  com- 
pensation.4 If  these  children  find  any  employment  it  is  of 
such  a  nature  as  to  form  eventually  an  obstacle  to  their  ad- 
vancement. The  Massachusetts  Commission  on  Industrial 
Education  found  25,000  children  between  the  ages  of  fourteen 
and  sixteen  years  who  were  employed  in  the  lowest  forms  of 
industry.5  And  the  Vocational  Bureau  reports  that  at  least 
one-half  of  this  period  is  spent  in  complete  idleness,  on  streets 
and  alleys  and  similar  places.  Those  who  find  an  occupation 
at  intervals  drift  from  job  to  job  and  after  some  years  find  that 
advancement  is  for  them  impossible.  There  is  no  alternative 
but  to  keep  on  in  what  Meyer  Bloomfield  calls  the  class  of 
"Vocational  hoboes,"  employed  in  "Blind  Alley"  occupations.8 

The  child's  mind  is  at  this  age  peculiarly  susceptible  to 
harmful  influences,  and  for  this  reason  idleness  and  weakened 
home  influences  are  especially  to  be  deplored.  The  exercise  of 
energy  is  a  physical  necessity  and  a  safety-valve  for  the  emo- 
tions. But  when  conditions  practically  enforce  a  state  of  idle- 
ness the  result  is  disastrous.  Two  evils  that  caused  alarm 
among  educators  and  psychologists  were  attributed  to  this 
want  of  proper  occupation  for  the  growing  youth.  The  in- 


*  Gaylor,  G.  W.,  "Vocational  Training  as  a  Preventive  of  Crime,"  The 
Psychological  Clinic,  Vol.  vii,  No.  2,  April,  1913,  p.  40. 

1  Ibid.,  p.  40. 

4  A  Report  on  Vocational  Training  in  Chicago  and  Other  Cities,  1912, 
City  Club  of  Chicago,  p.  144. 
e  Weeks,  R.  M.,  The  Peoples'  School,  Boston,  1912,  p.  182. 

•  Bloomfield,  Meyer,  Vocational  Guidance,  Boston,  1911,  p.  19. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Cattiolic  Schools       9 

crease  in  the  number  of  criminals  and  the  lack  of  skilled  work- 
men were  traced  directly  to  improper  employment  or  lack  of 
employment  during  this  period  of  transition  from  childhood 
to  maturity. 

In  regard  to  the  increase  of  criminality,  E.  J.  Lickly  asserts 
that  "90  per  cent  of  criminals  begin  their  careers  as  truants."7 
And  G.  W.  Gaylor  says,  "It  is  the  young  man  that  is  the  crimi- 
nal of  today.  The  daring  violent  crimes  are  committed  by 
boys  under  twenty-one  years  of  age,"  and  he  concludes  by 
saying  that  when  asked  the  cause  of  their  defection,  "They 
will  tell  you  that  they  drifted  into  crime  after  being  street 
and  night  loafers."8  To  show  how  serious  are  the  consequences 
of  such  conditions  he  cites  the  following  headlines  from  the 
press :  "Ten  Thousand  Boys  Arrested  Last  Year,"  "Four  Thou- 
sand out  of  Six  Thousand  Arrests  Last  Year  Were  Boys  Under 
Twenty."  (This  referred  to  a  city  of  less  than  150,000  inhabi- 
tants.) "Over  Half  of  Murderers  Last  Year  Mere  Boys."  And 
thus  he  continues  to  enumerate  similar  headings  of  newspaper 
articles.9 

In  charitable  and  corrective  work  much  good  has  been 
achieved  by  offering  employment  adapted  to  the  ability  and 
pleasing  to  the  nature  of  the  individual.10  It  was  suggested 
to  apply  similar  methods  to  the  normal  child  and  so  prevent 
the  evil  rather  than  apply  the  remedy  after  it  had  developed. 
The  theory  was  not  a  new  one,  for  many  centuries  ago  Sir 
Thomas  More  in  his  Utopia  had  set  forth  the  futility  of  punish- 
ment as  a  cure  for  crime.  He  insisted  that  siiice  crime  and 
pauperism  were  caused  by  idleness  and  lack  of  skill,  they  were 
curable  only  by  removing  the  cause,  namely,  by  training  men 
to  do  useful  work. 

This  theory  has  found  considerable  recognition  in  recent 
years,  and  more  than  ever  is  the  opinion  spreading  that  prob- 
ably "child  idleness  is  a  more  serious  matter  than  child 
labor."11 


'  Lickly,    E.    J.,    (Report)    "Successful    Schools    for    Truants,"    The 
Psychological  Clinic,  Vol.  vii,  No.  3,  May,  1913,  p.  86. 

*  Gaylor,   G.   W.,   "Vocational   Training   as   a   Preventive   of  Crime," 
The  Psychological  Clinic,  Vol.  vii,  No.  2,  April,  1913,  p.  41. 

•  Ibid.,  p.  42. 

"Weeks,  R.  M.,  The  People's  School,  Boston,  1912,  p.  185. 
11  Ibid.,  p.  175. 


10     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

In  some  cases  it  is  economic  pressure  that  compels  the  child 
to  leave  school  as  soon  as  the  law  permits,  and  he  is  then  forced 
to  enter  an  occupation  that  is  disadvantageous  to  his  future 
development;  but  according  to  recent  investigations  this  is 
not  generally  the  reason  for  discontinuance  of  school  work.12 
The  majority  of  pupils  leave  simply  because  they  do  not 
find  school  life  attractive.  Educational  literature  of  the  last 
two  decades  abounds  in  suggestions  for  arousing  and  sustain- 
ing in  children  love  and  interest  for  school  work,  especially 
during  the  formative  period.  One  of  the  means  advocated 
most  strongly  was  the  introduction  of  vocational  training. 

During  this  period  the  lack  of  skilled  workmen  was  felt  very 
keenly,  and  this  too  was  thought  to  be  due  in  large  measure 
to  the  fact  that  our  youths  spent  their  early  years  in  idleness 
or  drifting  from  job  to  job  in  the  unskilled  occupations.  For 
the  time  during  which  the  technique  of  a  trade  could  be  most 
easily  acquired  was  not  utilized.  Moreover,  the  irregular, 
shiftless  habits  that  are  usually  formed  as  a  consequence  of 
such  circumstances  proved  inimical  to  business  efficiency  and 
hence  prevented  success  in  later  life.13 

The  young  and  inexperienced  child  is  strongly  tempted  to 
start  in  an  unskilled  trade  at  what  seems  to  him  a  high  wage, 
rather  than  enter  an  occupation  that  for  some  time  offers 
little  remuneration.  Nor  will  words  alone  convince  him  that 
his  best  investment  is  to  invest  himself  by  increasing  his  own 
potential  value.  The  objective  interest  that  attracted  him 
during  the  first  years  of  his  elementary  education  has  grown 
too  weak  to  act  as  a  factor  in  keeping  him  at  school.  The 
course  taken  by  the  pupil  is  determined  by  subjective  interest 
which  results  from  understanding  the  necessity,  utility,  or  duty 
of  further  preparation. 

In  order  to  bring  about  this  subjective  interest,  to  foster 
and  encourage  it,  teachers  and  parents  were  urged  to  present 
to  children  the  material  benefit  that  they  will  derive  from 
careful  preparation  for  a  position.  When,  for  instance,  they 


18  Goldwaaser,  I.  E.,  "Shall  Elective  Courses  be  Established  in  the 
Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades?"  The  Psychological  Clinic,  Vol.  vii,  No. 
8,  Jan.,  1914,  p.  206;  also,  Harvey,  Lorenzo  D.,  "The  Need  of  Industrial 
Education  in  the  Public  School  System,  Proc.  N.  E.  A.,  1909,  p.  57. 

"  Weeks,  R.  M.,  The  Peoples'  School,  1912,  p.  183. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     11 

are  shown  that  50  per  cent  of  our  skilled  mechanics  are  foreign 
born  and  foreign  trained,  and  that  98  per  cent  of  New  York 
foremen  in  factories  were  educated  across  the  water,  they  will 
realize  that  without  similar  training  their  opportunities  for 
advancement  are  little  indeed;  and  that  habits  of  carelessness 
contracted  while  not  engaged  in  useful  work  during  youth  will 
hinder  their  promotion.14  On  the  other  hand,  the  seeming 
benefit  of  a  high  wage  that  a  young  man  may  receive  on  enter- 
ing unskilled  labor  proves  to  be  less  tempting  when  compared 
with  the  salary  of  a  skilled  workman  or  foreman.  This  com- 
parison shows  that  only  a  few  years  will  suffice  to  compensate 
for  the  amount  of  time  and  money  spent  in  preparation, 
while  the  chances  of  promotion  for  an  intelligent,  skilled,  re- 
sourceful workman  are  almost  unlimited. 

This  utilitarian  aim  is  a  potent  factor  in  keeping  the  child 
occupied  with  studies  and  work;  it  also  serves  the  purpose 
of  those  who  are  solicitous  for  the  social  and  economic  progress 
of  the  nation.  Whatever  increases  the  productive  capacity  of 
the  individual  necessarily  increases  that  of  the  nation.  The 
results  obtained  in  other  countries,  notably  in  Germany,  by 
systematic  and  thorough  training  of  youth  has  evoked  our 
admiration  and  stimulated  the  desire  of  imitation.  The  pres- 
ent attitude  toward  this  question  is  expressed  by  Gillette  in 
these  words :  "The  time  comes,  however,  in  the  history  of  every 
nation  when  it  must  educate  its  people  in  science  and  train 
them  in  manufactures  and  industries  or  it  will  go  down.  This 
higher  scientific  education  is  the  forerunner  of  higher  pros- 
perity, and  the  nation  which  fails  to  develop  the  intellectual 
faculty  of  production  must  degenerate,  for  it  cannot  stand 
still."15 

Political  and  ethical  motives  are  forced  into  the  background, 
and  purely  economic  motives  form  the  basis  of  the  modern 
state  school  system.  The  underlying  principle  of  many  recent 
educational  treatises  is  that  "each  individual  born  into  the 
world  represents  an  amount  of  social  capital.  The  social 
dividend  to  be  realized  on  the  capital  depends  upon  its 
investment."16 


14/&t<f.,  p.  20.  Also,  Monaghan,  J.  C.,  "Should  Trade  Schools  Be 
Established?"  Proc.  N.  E.  A.,  1909,  p.  607. 

"  Gillette,  J.  M.,  Vocational  Education.    New  York,  1910,  p.  27. 

'•  Bonsor,  P.  G.,  "Vocational  Aptitudes,"  Education,  Vol.  xxxiii,  No.  3, 
Nov.,  1916,  p.  146. 


12     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

Some  of  the  greatest  manufacturing  establishments  in  this 
country  have  provided  special  instruction  for  their  apprentices 
so  as  to  secure  the  requisite  knowledge  and  skill.  Systematic, 
organized,  continuous  instruction  for  their  workmen  was  more 
than  compensated  for  by  the  superior  grade  of  products  thus 
obtained.  But,  since  only  a  limited  number  of  houses  can 
afford  to  maintain  schools  of  this  nature,  very  few  children 
receive  the  benefit  of  the  courses  they  offer.17  To  meet  the 
demands  of  a  large  number  who  begin  work  at  an  early  age 
it  is  necessary  to  provide  means  that  are  within  the  reach 
of  all.  According  to  the  Keport  of  the  Massachusetts  Com- 
mission on  Industrial  and  Technical  Education  "less  than  2 
per  cent  of  the  children  who  begin  work  between  fourteen  and 
sixteen  are  employed  in  the  high-grade  industries,  and  98  per 
cent  in  unskilled  and  low-grade  industries."18  And  for  these 
98  per  cent  there  is  little  opportunity  for  advancement ;  manu- 
facturers assert  that  "the  child  who  does  enter  (the  low-grade 
industry)  closes  behind  him  the  door  of  progress  to  a  fair  living 
wage."19 

As  there  exists  a  surplus  of  unskilled  labor  which  is  con- 
tinually increasing,  the  problem  threatens  to  become  serious 
in  the  course  of  time.  On  the  other  hand,  the  demand  for 
skilled  workmen  is  daily  increasing  and  is  supplied  largely  by 
foreigners.  We  cannot  long  hold  our  place  as  a  nation  without 
better  industrial  education.20  It  is  frankly  admitted  that 
markets  are  gained  by  us  only  because  we  have  cheap  raw 
materials,  and  because  of  the  great  scale  upon  which  we  have 
done  things,  but  not  because  we  can  do  a  piece  of  work  better 
than  our  competitors  could  do  it.21  Our  manufacturers  as 
well  as  our  social  and  educational  leaders  are  anxious  that  we 
may  compete  successfully  in  foreign  markets  not  merely  be- 


17  Harvey,  L.  D.,  "Need  of  Industrial  Education,"  Proc.  N.  E.  A..  1909 
p.  58. 

18  Binzel,  A.  L.,   "Modification  of  Handwork,"  Proc.  N.  E.  A.,   1909 
p.  451. 

18  Binzel,  Alma  L.,  Modification  of  Handwork,  Proc.  N.  E.  A.,  1909, 
p.  451. 

20  Gillette,  J.  M.,  Vocational  Education.  New  York,  1910,  p.  27;  also 
Partridge,  G.  E.,  Genetic  Philosophy  of  Education.  New  York,  1912, 
p.  138. 

21Monaghan,  J.  C.,  "Should  Special  Trade  Schools  Be  Established?" 
N.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1909,  p.  608. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     13 

cause  we  command  a  wealth  of  natural  resources  unequalled 
by  any  other  nation,  but  also  because  we  have  developed  manual 
skill.  The  enviable  position  that  Germany  has  gained  in  the 
commercial  world  is  largely  due  to  the  industrial,  industrial- 
arts,  and  technical  schools,  which  were  established  throughout 
the  country  and  which  supplied  efficient  training  to  the  laborers. 
"Made  in  Germany"  may  be  a  lie  as  to  the  place  of  manufacture, 
but  it  is  no  uncertain  hint  as  to  where  articles  should  have 
been  made  to  secure  first  quality.  Yet  less  than  fifty  years  ago 
the  products  of  that  country  at  our  Centennial  Exposition 
were  far  inferior  to  those  of  France  and  England,  and  her  own 
representative  pronounced  them  poor  and  cheap.22 

The  advocates  of  industrial  education  urge  the  claim  that 
if  such  progress  was  achieved  in  half  a  century  by  a  nation 
whose  natural  resources  are  far  inferior  to  ours,  there  is  no 
reason  why  we  should  be  less  successful.  Our  country  leads  in 
the  production  of  those  materials  which  the  world  needs  and 
if  we  can  finish  these  products  in  the  manner  demanded  by  the 
consumers,  the  future  of  our  nation  promises  to  be  prosperous 
indeed.  Therefore  the  advocates  of  industrial  training  sug- 
gest a  system  of  schools  like  the  system  maintained  in  Ger- 
many and  in  some  parts  of  France  and  England,  or  at  least 
similar  to  this,  but  in  conformity  with  American  ideals. 

While  this  aim  appears  to  'be  wholly  utilitarian,  either  from 
the  standpoint  of  the  individual  or  of  the  nation,  the  same 
argument  is  used  by  those  who  desire  industrial  education  as 
a  means  of  fostering  patriotism,  altruism,  and  morality.  Love 
of  country  is  augmented  by  the  knowledge  of  its  greatness  and 
achievements.  The  pride  felt  by  the  citizen  of  a  nation  that  is 
foremost  in  the  quality  as  well  as  the  quantity  of  products  is 
a  strong  incentive  to  patriotism.  And  reciprocally,  the  greater 
the  joy  a  man  has  in  contemplating  the  glory  of  his  native 
land  the  greater  will  be  his  readiness  to  make  sacrifices  for  its 
maintenance  and  progress.  Good  citizenship  is  essential  for 
the  preservation  of  the  state;  and  the  ability  to  support  him- 
self and  those  dependent  upon  him  is  an  essential  for  good 
citizenship.  To  increase  the  competence  of  the  individual, 
above  all,  to  increase  the  number  of  skilled  workers,  tends  to 


w/&id.,  p.  607. 


14     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

increase  the  prosperity  of  the  nation,  and  consequently,  to 
foster  patriotism. 

A  strong  argument  in  favor  of  industrial  education  is  the 
beneficial  effect  of  systematic  and  regular  training  in  manual 
work  upon  the  character  of  those  who  are  trained.  Since  in- 
dustrial education  affords  the  child  opportunity  to  exercise  his 
craving  for  activity,  he  is  attracted  to  the  school  and  therefore 
kept  from  spending  much  of  his  time  in  idleness  and  in  an 
environment  that  is  conducive  to  the  formation  of  evil  habits. 
Besides  the  negative  phase,  such  activity  has  also  a  positive  in- 
fluence for  good.  Daily  work  is  the  strongest  factor  in  develop- 
ing a  man's  character.23  Dr.  Geo.  Kerschensteiner,  superintend- 
ent of  schools  in  Munich,  insisted  on  the  importance  of  such  in- 
struction as  a  means  of  character-building.  He  attached  little 
value  to  any  teaching  of  words  unless  it  was  accompanied  by  the 
action  that  is  inculcated  in  the  lesson.  Laboratories,  gardens, 
kitchens,  and  workshops  were  by  him  regarded  as  the  central 
point  in  the  instruction  given  in  other  lessons.24  He  believed 
that  insight  is  a  requisite  basis  for  dexterity,  and  that  dexterity 
and  insight  will  develop  that  joy  which  is  gained  by  the  con- 
sciousness of  excelling  in  an  occupation.25  Efficiency  in  work 
insures  success,  which  in  turn  gives  rise  to  a  legitimate  pride 
that  affords  satisfaction  and  pleasure  to  the  individual.  The 
inward  joy  over  well-performed  work  is  a  strong  incentive  to 
virtuous  living.  Time  has  proved  the  truth  of  the  old  proverb, 
"To  be  good  is  to  be  happy."  The  converse  of  this,  "To  be  happy 
is  to  be  good,"  is  also  true.  But  when  an  occupation  is  pur- 
sued only  for  material  gain  and  without  that  inward  joy  which 
results  from  love  of  an  occupation  and  consequent  success,  it 
is  a  constant  provocation  to  aversion  and  ill  will.26 

The  definite  purpose  which  the  child  has  in  view  when  en- 
gaged in  manual  work,  the  application  necessary  to  accomp- 
lish that  purpose,  the  accuracy  with  which  each  step  toward  its 
completion  must  be  carried  out,  are  each  and  all  important 
factors  in  the  formation  of  character,  and  they  accomplish  what 
merely  mental  education  cannot  do.  Foerster,  who  is  deeply 


23  Cooley,  B.  G.,  Vocational  Education  in  Europe,  Chicago,  1912,  p.  336. 

14  Ibid.,  p.  98. 

251&M?.,  p.  99. 

M  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  New  York,  1916,  p.  370. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catliolic  Schools     15 

interested  in  the  moral  welfare  of  children,  says :  "It  is  my  own 
firm  opinion  that  it  would  be  an  immense  benefit  to  our  boys, 
and  one  that  would  make  itself  felt  more  particularly  in  the 
sphere  of  sex,  if  handwork  were  made  obligatory ;  above  every- 
thing else  the  home  education  should  aim  at  securing  the  most 
precise  and  careful  execution  of  all  household  work."27  The 
feeling  of  responsibility  for  the  performance  of  a  certain  piece 
of  work  is  in  itself  an  aid  to  character  building.  The  pleasure 
derived  from  successful  labor  is  very  precious  even  to  the  adult, 
and  leads  to  repeated  efforts  and  new  victories.  Far  greater 
is  its  influence  on  the  immature  youth  and  the  child;  they  are 
encouraged  to  further  activity  when  they  see  the  tangible 
results  of  their  exertions. 

After  thus  viewing  the  situation  we  find  that  the  main  causes 
which  led  to  the  introduction  of  vocational  training  in  the 
state  schools  are : 

1.  The  prevention  of  crime. 

2.  Desire  to  increase  the  productive  capacity  of  the  indi- 
vidual. 

3.  Ambition  to  augment  the  nation's  progress  in  manufac- 
tures and  trade. 

4.  Desire  to  secure  morality  and  happiness  through  satisfac- 
tory occupations. 

An  Outline  of  the  Movement  Toward  Vocational  Education 
in  State  Schools 

In  many  instances  the  school  received  more  than  its  due 
share  of  blame  for  the  inadequate  preparation  of  children  for 
their  life-work.  The  efficiency  of  the  schools  in  the  past  was 
extolled  by  the  modern  critic  and  it  was  frequently  said  that 
they  excelled  because  they  taught  fewer  subjects,  but  taught 
these  more  thoroughly.  This  statement,  though  very  popular, 
was  entirely  gratuitous.  An  examination  that  had  been  held 
in  1846  in  Springfield,  Mass.,  was  again  given  in  1905  to  a 
class  of  the  same  grade  and  age.  On  comparison  of  the  papers 
it  was  found  that  the  result  was  throughout  in  favor  of  the 
class  of  1905.  Even  in  spelling,  for  which  our  grandparents 

"Foerster,  P.  W.,  Marriage  and  the  Sex  Problem,  translation  by 
Booth,  M.,  New  York,  1912,  Part  II,  p.  205. 


16     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

have  won  a  reputation,  the  1905  class  showed  10.6  per  cent  in- 
crease of  correct  papers.  The  greatest  increase  of  correct 
papers,  namely  36.1  per  cent,  was  found  in  arithmetic.28  The 
number  of  subjects  that  is  now  being  taught  in  the  schools  is 
greater  than  it  formerly  was,  but  that  these  subjects  were  then 
taught  more  thoroughly  is  an  illusion. 

The  cause  for  the  seemingly  decreased  capabilities  of  the 
child  lies  rather  in  the  rapidly  changing  social  environment  that- 
created  many  needs  for  which  no  provision  had  been  made,  and 
deprived  the  child  of  the  means  to  obtain  that  training  through 
useful  activities  hitherto  at  his  command.  Only  fifty  years 
ago  the  typical  American  home  was  the  farm,  not  the  modern 
farm  with  all  its  improved  machinery  and  labor-saving  con- 
trivances, but  the  farm  which  was  the  great  natural  laboratory, 
the  small  cooperative  factory.29  The  great  object  lessons  of 
home  manufacture  were  daily  presented  to  the  child,  even  from 
his  earliest  years.  He  was  familiar  with  all  the  details  of  the 
process  necessary  to  provide  the  garments  he  wore,  the  food 
he  ate,  the  furniture  in  the  home,  and  the  implements  used  on 
the  fields  and  meadows.  According  to  his  age  and  ability  he 
did  his  share  to  carry  on  the  industries  necessary  for  the  com- 
fort of  the  family.  This  trained  him  to  usefulness  without  de- 
stroying his  play  spirit,  and  was  exceedingly  valuable  in  call- 
ing forth  his  ingenuity  and  skill.  He  saw  and  learned  every 
detail  of  the  work,  which  enabled  him  to  see  each  part  in  its 
relation  to  the  whole.  The  lack  of  this  opportunity  makes  it- 
self keenly  felt  in  the  manufacture  of  articles  under  present 
conditions  where  each  laborer  knows  practically  nothing  of  the 
work  performed  by  others  towards  the  completion  of  the  pro- 
duct at  which  he  works. 

The  change  from  these  former  conditions  was  rapid  and 
radical.  The  average  home  of  the  present  day  offers  no  oppor- 
tunity for  the  child  to  exercise  his  constructive  abilities.  Even 
the  country  home  is  very  different  now  because  machinery  is 
employed  to  do  most  of  the  work  formerly  done  by  hand.  Cloth- 
ing, food,  furniture,  and  farm  implements  are  no  longer  made 


*  Gregory,  B.  C.,  Better  Schools.    New  York,  1912,  p.  113. 

w  Partridge,  G.  E.,  Genetic  Philosophy  of  Education.  New  York,  1912, 
p.  115;  also  Salisbury,  Albert,  "Influence  of  Industrial  Arts  and  Sci- 
ences," Proc.  Nk  E.  A.,  1909,  p.  640. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     17 

at  home  by  the  farmer;  they  are  now  procured  from  the  fac- 
tories where  thousands  of  hands  are  employed  that  would  have 
tilled  the  soil  under  former  conditions.  The  rise  of  industries 
in  cities  and  towns  drew  large  numbers  from  the  country ;  living 
conditions  were  altered  so  rapidly  that  the  people  scarcely  real- 
ized how  such  a  sudden  change  would  affect  the  growing  youth. 
As  long  as  the  education  received  in  the  school  had  been  supple- 
mented by  the  industrial  training  of  the  home  it  had  been 
sufficient  to  enable  the  young  man  to  undertake  and  carry  on 
successfully  whatever  work  he  desired;  the  ambitious  youth 
was  prepared  to  enter  any  career  he  chose. 

But  the  change  that  came  was  as  thorough  as  it  was  rapid. 
The  division  of  labor  and  the  specialized  forms  of  industry 
which  were  necessitated  by  the  growth  of  manufacture,  made 
adequate  preparation  for  a  definite  occupation  essential  to  suc- 
cess. It  was  often  difficult  to  obtain  such  preparation;  espe- 
cially the  work  done  in  the  schools  seemed  so  far  remote  from 
the  future  work  of  the  child  that  he  saw  no  connection  between 
the  two.  The  usual  result  was  complete  loss  of  interest  in  the 
school  and  an  intense  longing  to  be  released  from  its  unwelcome 
restraint. 

It  was  clear  that  the  school  system  was  seriously  defective 
and  unable  to  meet  the  demands ;  but  how  to  remedy  the  defect 
was  a  difficult  problem.  It  was  necessary  to  bring  about  a  re- 
adjustment of  the  curriculum,  but  opinions  differ  widely  as  to 
the  manner  in  which  this  was  to  be  accomplished.  Until  re- 
cently, the  control  of  this  movement  had  been  in  the  hands  of 
educational  authorities,  and  for  this  reason  academic  interests 
prevailed.  Opposed  to  these  were  the  over-practical  enthusi- 
asts, who,  not  satisfied  with  the  gradual  transformation  of  our 
present  institution  wished  to  discard  everything  that  had  no 
immediate  industrial  utility.30 

While  the  kind  of  training  that  should  be  given  is  very  much 
disputed,  and  in  all  probability  will  continue  a  subject  of  de- 
bate for  some  time  to  come,  it  is  generally  admitted  that  the 
time  of  training  should  be  extended.  Children  who  leave  school 
at  the  early  age  of  fourteen,  and  this  class  is  very  numerous, 
find  themselves  barred  from  any  but  the  unskilled  occupations ; 

80  Weeks,  Ruth  M.,  The  People's  School  Boston,  1912,  p.  95. 


18     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

and  this,  as  has  been  indicated,  gives  rise  to  the  formation  of 
undesirable  habits  that  are  likely  to  prevent  later  progress. 
The  democratic  ideal  of  education  will  never  be  realized  until 
each  child  has  the  opportunity  to  complete  the  preparation  for 
his  career,  be  that  of  an  industrial  or  professional  nature.31 
Although  there  has  been  great  progress  in  this  direction  within 
the  last  decade,  the  realization  of  this  ideal  still  seems  very 
remote.  The  manual  training  that  had  been  introduced  into 
the  schools  was  found  to  be  deficient  since  this  training  did 
not  actually  function  in  the  specific  work  later  undertaken 
by  the  student  unless  the  occupation  in  which  he  was  engaged 
happened  to  be  in  that  line  in  which  he  had  received  instruc- 
tion.32 

Manual  training  schools  were  followed  by  the  evening  voca- 
tional schools,  whose  aim  was  to  supply  the  related  technical 
instruction,  while  the  practical  training  was  acquired  during 
the  actual  work  of  the  day.  Many  adults  seized  this  oppor- 
tunity for  self-improvement,  and  this  demonstrates  the  utility 
of  these  schools.  While  adults  received  great  benefit  from  these 
evening  schools,  their  advantages  for  children  were  offset  by 
grave  disadvantages.  The  fatigue  caused  by  the  day's  labor 
was  augmented  by  night  study  and  the  result  was  a  serious 
strain  upon  the  constitution,  and  detriment  to  the  physical 
development  of  the  child.  Children  usually  attended  such 
schools  only  when  compelled  by  parents  or  employers.  The 
quality  of  work  done  by  a  tired,  unwilling  child  is  necessarily 
poor  and  the  efforts  of  both  teacher  and  pupil  are  crowned  with 
but  meager  success. 

But  these  evening  schools  are  the  only  possible  means  of 
progress  for  the  more  mature  workers,  who  either  did  not  have 
the  advantages  of  an  industrial  education  in  their  youth,  or  who 
neglected  the  opportunity  they  then  had.  To  this  class  the 
evening  school  is  the  only  hope  of  advancement,  and  adults 
have  learned  to  realize  its  practical  value  since  they  suffered 
from  their  want  of  preparation.  Lack  of  provision  for  the 
industrial  education  of  children  in  the  past  has  created  the 
need  of  evening  schools,  and  this  need  will  continue  to  exist 


81  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  New  York,  1916,  p.  114. 
11  Bulletin,  1916,  No.  21,  Vocational  Secondary  Education,  Washing- 
ton, D.  C.,  p.  11. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     1.9 

until  they  are  replaced  by  day-continuation  schools  or  part- 
time  schools  and  all-day  industrial  schools.33  These  give 
greater  satisfaction  than  the  evening  school.  The  part-time 
schools  and  the  day  vocational  schools  resemble  each  other  in 
many  ways  but  differ  essentially  in  this  respect :  in  the  former 
the  pupils  go  from  the  school  to  the  employing  establishment 
to  obtain  practical  experience,  whereas  in  the  latter  the  pupils 
go  from  the  employing  establishment  to  the  school  so  as  to 
secure  supplemental  training.34 

Technical  schools  no  longer  confine  themselves  to  instruc- 
tion in  the  theoretical  phases  of  the  various  professions.  Origi- 
nally these  were  intended  to  supplement  apprenticeship  as  a 
means  of  vocational  training,  but  in  our  time  there  is  need  of 
supplanting,  rather  than  supplementing,  apprenticeship.  There- 
fore many  technical  schools  have  introduced  work  to  give  the 
necessary  practical  experience.35 

The  National  Educational  Association  has  concerned  itself 
for  many  years  with  the  problem  of  industrial  training,  and  has 
appointed  a  committee  on  Vocational  Education.  This  com- 
mittee attempted  a  classification  of  the  various  vocational 
schools,  excluding  those  of  college  grade.  These  schools  were 
classified  under  five  distinct  types,  each  type  having  a  number 
of  subdivisions.  For  example,  the  Agricultural  schools  have 
the  following  divisions:  (1)  Vocational  agricultural  day 
schools;  (2)  Part-time  agricultural  schools ;  (3)  Practical  arts 
agricultural  schools,  and  (4)  Farm  extension  schools.  The 
Commercial,  the  Industrial,  and  the  Homernaking  schools  each 
have  similar  divisions.  It  was  found  that  in  the  United  States, 
in  1916,  there  were  in  operation  92  agricultural  schools,  224 
commercial  schools,  446  industrial  schools,  423  homemaking 
schools,  and  24  technical  schools.36  This  enumeration  excludes 
all  private  and  semi-private  institutions  and  all  others  not 
classed  under  secondary  schools.  Nor  does  this  committee  claim 
the  above  to  be  a  complete  record  of  all  the  vocational  schools 
under  the  control  of  the  state  school  system,  since  various  causes 
tended  to  lessen  the  number  of  schools  actually  in  existence, 


"Ibid.,  pp.  94-95. 
34  Ibid.,  p.  62. 
"  Ibid.,  p.  55. 
"  Ibid.,  pp.  21-22. 


20     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

and  new  schools  are  continually  being  established.  The  data 
are  sufficient,  however,  to  indicate  the  importance  of  the  move- 
ment 'and  the  interest  exhibited  in  its  regard  throughout  the 
country.  For  previous  to  the  twentieth  century  practically 
nothing  had  been  done  in  this  field  and  even  until  1905,  the 
measures  that  had  been  taken,  since  they  were  not  of  a  practical 
nature,  were  not  likely  to  produce  the  desired  results.37 

The  efforts  of  the  state  schools  are  reinforced  by  many  private 
and  semi-private  establishments.  The  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  has  a  large  number  of  agencies  for  industrial, 
scientific,  technical,  and  trade  instruction  in  the  form  of  asso- 
ciations. In  1910  there  were  180  of  these  extending  help  to 
many  workers,  either  by  preparing  them  to  enter  trades,  or 
by  giving  the  desired  instruction  to  those  already  engaged 
in  the  trades.  The  number  of  philanthropic  schools  plus  the 
apprenticeship  schools  may  be  considered  as  equal  to  the  num- 
ber of  schools  conducted  by  the  state.38 

An  Outline  of  the  Vocational  Guidance  Movement 

A  great  deal  of  discontent  and  suffering  is  caused  by  the 
fact  that  many  people  are  engaged  in  the  kind  of  work  which 
does  not  appeal  to  them.  While  necessity  may  keep  such  indi- 
viduals from  seeking  other  and  more  congenial  employment, 
the  motive  which  prompted  them  to  undertake  the  repulsive 
occupation  will  not  restrain  their  ill-will  nor  prevent  them 
from  evading  or  slighting  their  duties.39  For  this  reason  many 
educators  and  social  workers  are  convinced  that  vocational 
guidance  is  of  greater  importance  than  vocational  training. 
The  object  of  vocational  guidance  is  not  to  help  the  child  to 
find  work,  nor  to  prescribe  an  occupation  for  him;  but  rather 
to  direct  the  child  to  such  work  as  he  seems  best  fitted  to  do 
both  by  nature  and  training.40 

In  1909  a  Vocation  Bureau  was  established  in  Boston  for  the 
public  high  school  students.  The  express  aims  of  this  bureau 
were:  1.  To  secure  thoughtful  consideration,  on  the  part  of 


"  Ibid.,  p.  11. 

*•  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission  of  Labor,  1910,  pp. 
544-583. 

*•  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  p.  370. 
40  Bloomfield,  Meyer,  Vocatonal  Guidance — Introduction  xiii. 


Vocational  I'iriHi  ration  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     lil 

parents,  pupils  and  teachers,  of  the  importance  of  a  life  career 
motive.  2.  To  assist  in  every  possible  way  in  placing  pupils 
in  some  remunerative  work  when  leaving  school.  3.  To  keep 
in  touch  with  them  thereafter,  suggesting  means  of  improve- 
ment and  watching  the  advancement  of  those  who  need  such 
aid.41 

The  vocational  guidance  movement,  like  the  general  move- 
ment for  vocational  education,  has  its  origin  in  the  solicitude 
for  the  large  number  of  children  who  leave  school  with  very 
little  training  and  who  consequently  face  a  market  for  un- 
skilled labor  only.  There  are  other  associations  that  work 
along  similar  lines  and  that  have  achieved  notable  results. 
Prominent  among  these  are  the  Trade  Extension  League,  the 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  University  Extension  Course  and  Church  Ex- 
tension Committees.  Many  schools  invite  to  their  commence- 
ment exercises  lecturers  who  aim  to  direct  the  attention  of 
the  pupils  and  especially  of  the  graduates,  to  the  question  of 
choosing  and  preparing  for  an  occupation.42  There  has  been 
rapid  progress  in  the  vocational  guidance  movement  and  a  de- 
cided change  in  its  method.  "Not  so  long  ago  it  meant  finding 
a  job  for  the  individual  in  a  certain  industry."  Now  it  is 
"transformed  largely  into  an  effort  to  keep  boys  and  girls  out 
of  the  industries,  by  convincing  them  and  their  parents  of  the 
value  of  further  schooling,  at  least  until  there  is  available  a 
fund  of  more  definite  knowledge  of  the  industries  into  which 
it  is  proposed  to  send  children."43  Even  in  the  brief  period 
of  six  years  much  valuable  information  has  been  gained  in  the 
department  of  educational  endeavor.  It  is  evident  that  no 
one  can  properly  select  an  occupation  for  the  child,  but  he  may 
be  assisted  materially  by  the  counsellor  who  can  point  out  the 
advantages  and  disadvantages  of  each  occupation,  who  knows 
the  requirements  of  the  trade,  and  has  some  ability  to  judge 
whether  or  not  the  child  is  prepared  to  fill  the  position,  or  to 
advise  means  of  acquiring  the  necessary  preparation.  "We 
must  plan  how  we  may  prevent  from  lapsing  to  unskilled  labor 


41  Ibid.,  chap.  3,  pp.  32-33. 

4iCooley,  Edwin  G.,  Vocational  Education  in  Europe,  Chicago,  1912, 
pp.  101-104. 

43  Bowden,  Wm.  T.,  "Progress  in  Vocational  Education,"  Education 
Report,  1913,  Vol.  i,  p.  256. 


22     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

the  half -educated  boys  who  leave  school  at  about  fourteen,  many 
with  vocational  tendencies  but  without  sufficient  intellectual 
interests  to  carry  them  on  further  than  the  point  at  which  the 
school  has  left  them."44  Meyer  Bloomfield  expresses  the  same 
view  from  a  commercial  standpoint:  "Authorities  should  be 
empowered  to  deal  with  abuse  and  misapplication  of  the  ex- 
pensively trained  product.'745 

While  this  movement  is  still  in  its  early  stage  of  development 
it  would  be  unwise  to  expect  of  it  more  than  monitory  voca- 
tional guidance.  Both  the  child  and  his  parents  are  to  be  led 
to  consider  the  matter,  the  child's  taste  and  abilities  are  to  be 
studied,  information  regarding  occupations  is  to  be  extended, 
and  means  for  acquiring  the  proper  training  should  be  indi- 
cated to  the  child.  A  very  important  service  can  be  rendered 
to  him  by  directing  his  attention  to  the  problem  of  choosing  a 
life-work  and  to  the  data  that  have  any  bearing  on  its  solu- 
tion.46 

One  of  the  most  important  considerations  that  should  prompt 
the  choice  of  an  occupation  has  been  almost  totally  ignored  by 
the  average  child.  A  study  of  boys  and  girls  of  the  upper 
grammar  grades,  made  for  the  purpose  of  ascertaining1  their 
choice  of  vocation  and  the  reason  for  that  choice,  showed  that 
they  were  usually  influenced  by  personal  preference  or  general 
liking  for  a  given  occupation.  Less  frequently  the  wish  of 
parents,  or  the  desire  to  help  the  parents  determined  their 
choice.  Rarely  was  aptitude  for  work  mentioned  as  a  reason 
for  selecting  a  certain  vocation,  and  where  this  was  the  case 
some  work  had  already  been  done  in  the  regular  course.47  Yet 
aptitude  for  work  is  necessary  to  insure  efficiency  and  joy  in 
work,  to  stimulate  further  endeavor  in  a  successful  career. 

It  is  difficult  to  determine  for  what  kind  of  work  the  child 
may  have  aptitude  unless  observation  can  be  made  upon  work 
that  has  been  undertaken.  Gillette  advocates  that  a  large 
part  of  the  information  that  is  given  in  the  school  should  be 


44  Partridge,  G.  E.,  Genetic  Philosophy  of  Education,  p.  139. 

45  Bloomfield,  Meyer,  Vocational  Education,  p.  23. 

"Bowden,  Wm.  T.,  Progress  in  Vocational  Education,  1915,  Vol.  i, 
p.  264. 

47  Goldwasser,  I.  E.,  "Shall  Elective  Courses  Be  Established?"  The 
Psychological  Clinic,  Vol.  7,  June,  1914,  p.  214. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     23 

made  to  bear  on  the  future  calling.48  The  variety  of  occupa- 
tions into  which  the  children  may  enter  makes  this  suggestion 
scarcely  applicable  to  any  schools  but  such  as  are  in  a  locality 
where  but  very  few  pursuits  are  offered.  And  even  then  it  is 
doubtful  whether  it  is  wise  to  ignore  the  many  other  occupa- 
tions that  the  child  may  choose  from  a  wider  field.49  A  fair 
means  of  judging  the  aptitude  of  children  is  by  the  interest  they 
exhibit  in  certain  lines  of  work.  Therefore  one  phase  of  the 
vocational  guidance  movement  is  to  supply  material  that  is 
calculated  to  arouse  interst.  For  this  purpose  the  Vocation 
Bureau  of  Boston  issues  a  number  of  bulletins  treating  of  all 
the  phases  of  those  occupations  which  are  most  likely  to  be 
chosen.50  These  are  distributed  freely  among  the  children 
who  are  encouraged  to  read  them;  biographies  are  recom- 
mended as  an  incentive  to  the  ambition  of  youth;  magazines 
that  treat  of  vocational  education  and  manual  training  are 
found  useful  aids  in  stimulating  the  child's  mind  in  regard  to 
his  future  work.  Excursions  to  shops  and  factories  of  the 
neighborhood,  debates  and  discussions  concerning  the  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  various  occupations  are  suggested 
as  a  means  of  arousing  interest  and  as  an  aid  to  select  an  agree- 
able career.  Questionnaires  concerning  the  pupil's  ambitions, 
abilities,  interests,  and  characteristics,  when  answered  by  the 
pupil,  even  if  he  is  not  conscious  of  the  reason  for  which  they 
were  asked,  serve  as  a  guide  to  the  vocation  counsellor  and  en- 
able him  to  suggest  a  general  type  of  vocation  with  a  fair  de- 
gree of  accuracy.51 

To  be  successful  the  vocational  guidance  movement  must 
have  the  cooperation  of  parents,  social  workers,  teachers  and 
employers.  If  these  work  in  harmony  and  disinterestedly,  the 
best  possible  chance  can  be  offered  to  the  children  in  whom 
their  interest  is  centered.  It  will  require  time  and  patient  dis- 
cussion to  secure  a  consensus  of  opinion  and  to  work  out  a  pro- 
gram that  will  receive  general  assent,  since  there  are  many 


*•  Gillette,  John  M.,  Vocational  Education,  p.  247. 

49  Ayres,  L.  P.,  "Studies  in  Occupations,"  Vocational  Guidance,  1914, 
No.  14,  p.  30. 

60  Twenty-fifth  Annual  Report  of  the  Commission  of  Labor,  1910, 
p.  425. 

81  Ibid.,  p.  411. 


24     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

views,  each  representing  elements  of  value.52  On  this  question 
L.  P.  Ayres  says :  ''If  we  are  to  engage  in  vocational  guidance 
our  first  and  greatest  need  is  a  basis  of  fact  for  our  own  guid- 
ance. The  kind  of  vocational  guidance  that  many  of  our  child- 
ren need  is  the  kind  that  will  guide  them  to  stay  in  school  a  few 
years  longer,  and  the  kind  of  vocational  guidance  that  our 
schools  most  need  is  the  kind  that  will  carry  the  children  for- 
ward through  the  grades  further  and  faster."53 

The  work  of  the  vocation  counsellor  is  delicate  and  difficult, 
since  it  calls  for  exceptional  qualities  of  intelligence.  The 
Women's  Educational  and  Industrial  Union,  Boston,  has  pro- 
vided a  year's  program  for  those  who  are  preparing  themselves 
for  work  in  this  field.  The  course  is  offered  especially  to  college 
graduates  and  experienced  teachers,  and  includes  research  as  to 
industrial  opportunities,  economics,  statistics,  observation  and 
practice.54  One  who  undertakes  to  guide  children  in  their 
choice  of  vocation  is  expected  to  have  certain  qualifications. 
According  to  the  opinion  of  Frederick  Bonsor,  the  first  of  these 
is  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  vocational  world,  especially  of 
the  industries  of  that  locality  in  which  the  children  will  most 
probably  spend  their  lives.  This  knowledge  of  the  vocational 
world  should  be  supplemented  by  intimate  knowledge  of  the 
people  and  their  needs.  To  be  successful  the  vocation  coun- 
sellor must  have  the  confidence  of  children,  parents  and  em- 
ployers. He  must  have  their  cooperation  which  he  can  obtain 
only  by  being  in  sympathy  with  them ;.  and  he  will  gain  their 
confidence  only  when  they  know  that 'he  is  familiar  with  the 
conditions  of  the  laborers.  The  second  qualification  is  ex- 
perience along  these,  or  similar  lines.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  teachers  and  others  who  have  previously  directed  the 
young  are  preferred  for  this  work.  Besides  a  knowledge  of  the 
child,  the  counsellor  must  have  a  knowledge  of  the  living  con- 
ditions and  congestion  of  population,  of  child  labor  and  fac- 
tory laws.  Then,  thirdly,  the  personality  of  the  vocation  coun- 
sellor is  important.  A  great  deal  of  tact  is  required  of  a  person 
who  undertakes  a  work  in  which  he  must  deal  with  such  a 


52  Mead,   Geo.    H.,   The  Larger   Educational   Bearings    of   Vocational 
Education,  Bulletin  No.  14,  1914,  p.  22. 

53  Ayres,  L.  P.,  Studies  in  Occupations,  Bulletin  No.  14,  1914,  p.  30. 
84  Arnold,  S.  L.,  Vocation  Guidance,  Bulletin  No.  14,  1914,  p.  90. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     25 

variety  of  characters,  youths  and  adults,  children  and  parents, 
teachers  and  employers.  He  must  be  able  to  meet  occasions 
with  prompt noss  and  decision,  yet  with  tact  and  human  sym- 
pathy. As  a  fourth  qualification  he  should  have  a  capacity  for 
constructive  research.  Conditions  are  unceasingly  changing, 
and  unless  the  vocation  counsellor  is  able  to  follow  the  altera- 
lions  in  his  environment  and  knows  how  to  draw  knowledge 
from  these  changes  which  will  serve  to  guide  him  in  his  future 
work,  the  aim  of  vocational  guidance  will  not  be  realized. 
While  the  whole  process  is  still  in  its  initial  stage,  this  last 
qualification  is  especially  necessary.55 

Teachers  are  expected  to  help  in  making  the  work  of  the 
vocation  bureau  more  efficient  by  giving  to  the  counsellor  the 
benefit  of  their  experience.  They  are  urged  to  stimulate  in 
their  pupils  the  consideration  of  their  future  career,  to  supply 
them  with  the  proper  material  for  reading,  and  to  ascertain 
by  direct  inquiry  and  indirectly  by  means  of  their  work  in 
composition,  their  tastes  and  aptitudes.  "The  ideal  plan  of 
articulating  the  several  elements  which  have  been  treated 
would  be  to  group  and  fuse  all  the  various  factors  about  the 
thought  of  vocation  which  would  serve  as  center  or  core  of  the 
school  program."56 

Some  writers  advocate  early  information  on  matters  per- 
taining to  vocation  but  others  see  in  this  a  serious  danger  for 
the  growing  child,  for  as  early  specialization  effectually 
hinders  the  discovery  of  personal  aptitudes  and  the  develop- 
ment of  latent  powers  in  the  child,  so  all  that  tends  to  early 
specialization  is  undesirable.  Besides  it  is  a  serious  mistake 
to  train  individuals  for  efficiency  in  a  definite  line  of  work,  since 
especially  at  the  present  time  there  are  abrupt  and  sudden 
changes  in  the  industries,  as  new  ones  arise  and  old  ones  are 
revolutionized.57  Over-specialization  is  the  cause  of  unemploy- 
ment and  of  inability  to  meet  changed  conditions;  this  may 
become  just  as  deterimental  to  the  individual  and  society  as 
the  lack  of  any  development  of  skill.  The  failure  of  Oriental 
education,  which  had  such  a  fair  beginning  in  the  control  of 


S8Bonsor,  P.  G.,  "Necessity  of  Professional  Training  for  Vocation 
Counseling,"  Vocational  Guidance,  Bulletin  No.  14,  1914,  p.  37;  also 
Bowden,  Wm.  T.,  Education  Report,  1915,  pp.  264-265. 

59  Gillette,  John  M.,  Vocational  Education,  p.  247. 

i7  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education.  New  York,  1916,  p.  135. 


26     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

nature,  was  caused  by  the  effort  to  suppress  the  individual, 
hampering  his  development,  and  making  progress  practically 
impossible.58  A  similar  condition  would  be  brought  about  by 
too  early  specialization,  therefore  the  earlier  preparation  for 
vocation  must  be  indirect,  rather  than  direct,  or  it  will  defeat 
its  own  purpose. 

Though  at  the  present  time  there  is  no  unanimity  on  this 
question,  the  majority  who  have  devoted  their  time  and  energy 
to  a  study  of  the  situation  recommend  a  broad  and  liberal  edu- 
cation up  to  the  age  of  fourteen  in  order  to  insure  general 
vocational  development.  Nevertheless  it  is  urged  that  the 
curriculum  provide  for  vocational  enlightenment  before  this 
age  is  reached.  Manual  training  is  considered  to  be  sufficient 
to  lay  the  foundation  of  trade  dexterity  and  trade  intelligence, 
because  basic  skill,  whether  mental  or  motor,  is  acquired  early 
in  life.59  Just  how  to  keep  the  proper  balance  between  the  in- 
formal and  the  formal,  the  incidental  and  the  intentional, 
modes  of  education  is  one  of  the  weightiest  problems  with 
which  the  philosophy  of  education  has  to  cope.60 

John  Dewey  says  that  "To  find  out  what  one  is  fitted  to  do 
and  to  secure  an  opportunity  to  do  it  is  the  key  to  happiness. 
Nothing  is  more  tragic  than  failure  to  discover  one's  true  busi- 
ness in  life,  or  to  find  that  one  has  drifted  or  been  forced 
by  circumstances  into  an  uncongenial  calling."  Since  in  his 
opinion  "it  is  the  business  of  education  to  discover  what  each 
person  is  good  for,  and  to  train  him  to  mastery  of  that  mode 
of  excellence,  because  such  development  would  also  secure 
the  fulfillment  of  social  needs  in  the  most  harmonious  way,"81 
the  task  devolving  upon  the  school  is  no  light  one.  A  read- 
justment of  the  present  curriculum  is  imperative  in  order  to 
meet  the  situation.  Whether  the  present  school  system  may 
be  readjusted  by  a  gradual  transformation  preserving  the  in- 
formational, the  cultural,  and  the  disciplinary  features  which 
they  now  possess,  or  whether  a  sudden  and  complete  readjust- 
ment should  be  made,  is  at  the  present  time  an  undecided, 
though  much  debated,  question.62 

M  Graves,  F.  P.,  History  of  Education.  New  York,  1909,  p.  108. 
58  Weeks,  Ruth  M.,  The  People's  School.  Boston,  1912,  p.  173. 

60  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  p.  10. 

61  Ibid.,  p.  360. 

9*  Gillette,  John  M.,  Vocational  Education,  p.  13;  also  Dewey,  John, 
Democracy  and  Education,  p.  368. 


CHAPTER  II 

AN    OUTLINE    OP   THE    HISTORY    OF   VOCATIONAL    EDUCATION    IN 
CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS 

The  Church  has  ever  been  solicitous  for  the  welfare  of  her 
children,  and  so  we  find  that  from  the  dawn  of  Christianity 
she  provided  for  their  education.  As  soon  as  the  yoke  of  perse- 
cution and  oppression  by  civil  authority  was  removed,  she 
fearlessly  sought  to  accomplish  her  aim ;  namely,  to  extend  the 
sublime  message  of  hope  and  salvation  to  all ;  to  establish  that 
equality  among  men  which  the  Redeemer  had  come  to  restore ; 
to  make  known  the  loftiest  truths  of  religion  and  the  highest 
form  of  morality.  |Her  mission  was  to  teach  religious  truths 
and  moral  precepts,  but  in  order  to  do  this  it  was  necessary  to 
provide  for  the  training  of  the  intellect  as  well.  This  became 
more  imperative  when  the  home  influence  was  no  longer  able 
to  counteract  the  dangers  that  threatened  the  moral  welfare  of 
her  children.  Therefore,  she  established  the  Catechumenal 
schools,  which  provided  religious  instruction  for  prospective 
Christians ;  the  Catechetical  schools,  in  which  vocational  train- 
ing was  given  to  the  future  priest ;  the  Song  schools  and  Parish 
schools,  where  Christian  doctrine,  reading  and  writing  were 
taught,  and  the  children  were  prepared  to  participate  in  the 
services  of  the  Church.63 

Most  important  of  all  the  educational  institutions  during  the 
early  Middle  Ages  were  the  Monastic  schools,  for  though  the 
monasteries  were  primarily  intended  for  purposes  of  devotion, 
they  provided  systematic  instruction  for  the  young  committed 
to  their  care  by  parents  that  they  might  receive  a  Christian 
education.  In  the  West  monasticism  was  to  be  an  instrument 
in  the  hands  of  the  Almighty  for  renewing  the  face  of  Europe. 
St.  Benedict,  who  know  from  his  own  experience  the  moral 
dangers  of  a  Godless  education,  began  a  work  of  untold  benefit 
to  mankind  when  he  established  his  order.  It  is  true  that  this 
was  not  done  with  the  intention  of  teaching  art,  or  fostering 
architecture,  or  promoting  other  industries :  the  main  object  of 


M  McCormick,  P.  J.,  History  o/  Education,  Washington,  D.  C.,  1915,  pp. 
65-90. 

27 


28     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

lii'e  in  the  monasteries  was  the  sanctification  of  its  members, 
who,  according  to  the  words  of  St.  Benedict,  are  really  worthy 
of  the  name  "monk"  only  when  they  live  by  the  labor  of  their 
own  hands.64  To  work  and  to  pray  was  to  be  the  occupation 
of  his  children,  and  from  this  small  and  apparently  insignifi- 
cant beginning  resulted  the  transformation  of  Europe. 

The  principle  that  manual  labor  has  its  legitimate  place  in 
the  course  of  instruction  did  not  originate  with  St.  Benedict. 
In  the  fourth  century  we  find  in  St.  Basil's  legislation  concern- 
ing pupils  this  statement:  "And  whilst  acquiring  knowledge 
of  letters,  they  are  likewise  to  be  taught  some  useful  art  or 
trade."65  And  in  St.  Jerome's  instruction  to  Laeta  regarding 
the  education  of  her  daughter,  Paula,  there  is  set  forth  expli- 
citly the  kind  of  manual  work  that  she  should  be  taught.66 
This  is  all  the  more  remarkable  since  he  outlined  the  course  for 
a  noble  virgin,  not  for  the  practical  use  that  the  skill  of  her 
hands  might  acquire,  but  as  a  means  of  obtaining  a  complete 
education. 

Though  the  early  Christians  recognized  the  value  of  labor  in 
the  educative  process  and  were  aware  of  its  dignity,  since  the 
Son  of  God  had  deigned  to  teach  this  lesson  by  His  example,  it 
was  a  very  difficult  problem  to  convince  the  newly  converted 
world  of  the  fourth  century  that  their  preconceived  notions  con- 
cerning manual  work  were  erroneous  and  not  in  accordance 
with  those  of  a  true  disciple  of  Christ.  The  Komans,  whose 
dominion  extended  well-nigh  over  the  then  known  world,  looked 
upon  the  pursuit  of  any  industry,  and  especially  of  agriculture, 
which  was  almost  exclusively  the  portion  of  slaves,  as  degrad- 
ing occupations.67  To  overcome  such  prejudice  was  one  of  the 
many  difficult  tasks  that  confronted  the  Church  in  early  Chris- 
tian times.  It  was  accomplished  mainly  through  the  influence 
of  inonasticism.  Bound  by  their  rule  to  divide  the  time  between 
prayer  and  labor,  the  followers  of  St.  Benedict,  by  their  ex- 
ample, taught  the  lesson  which  made  possible  the  civilization 


64  St.  Benedict,  The  Holy  Rule,  Atchison,  Kansas,  1912,  Ch.  48,  p.  109. 

65  Drane,  A.  T.,  Christian  Schools  and  Scholars,  New  York,  1910,  p.  24. 

66  Denk,  Otto,   Geschichte  des  Gallo-Fronkischen   Unterrichts  u.  Bil- 
dungswesens,  Mainz,  1892,  p.  262. 

67  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the  West.     Boston,  1872,  Vol.  1,  Book  3. 
p.  297. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     29 

of  Europe.  According  to  the  example  of  Our  Lord  and  His 
disciples,  labor  was  sanctified  by  them  and  raised  to  the  dig- 
nity of  a  virtue  in  which  lies  man's  redemption. 

The  monastery  was  usually  located  in  an  isolated  "desert"; 
that  is,  in  an  uninhabited,  uncultivated  tract  of  land,  covered 
with  forests  or  surrounded  by  marshes.68  The  monks  desired 
the  solitude  which  an  inaccessible  retreat  offered,  and  the 
donor's  munificence  incurred  the  least  possible  sacrifice.  But 
the  patient  toil  of  the  monks  transformed  the  forests,  the 
marshes,  the  sandy  plains  and  barren  heaths  into  fat  pastur- 
ages and  abundant  harvests.  The  regions  thus  restored  often 
comprised  from  one-fourth  to  one-half  of  a  kingdom,  as  was 
the  case  in  Northumberland,  East  Anglia  and  Mercia.69 

The  material  benefit  that  the  work  of  the  monks  secured  for 
Europe  by  the  clearing  of  forests,  by  irrigation,  drainage,  the 
development  of  agriculture,  and  the  impetus  given  to  all  the 
industries  was  very  great;  but  these  were  surpassed  by  the 
mental  and  spiritual  good  that  was  produced  by  means  of  the 
training  given  in  these  schools.  The  conquest  of  the  wild  beasts 
that  dwelt  within  the  forests  was  not  as  difficult  as  the  victory 
over  barbarian  passions;  to  obtain  fruit  and  grain  from  the 
wilderness  was  a  lighter  task  than  to  graft  upon  these  un- 
tamed natures  the  nobility  of  Christian  virtues.70 

The  training  and  instruction  were  transmitted  not  only  by 
direct  teaching  in  the  schools  established  by  the  monks,  but 
also  by  their  intercourse  with  the  people.71  In  the  one  their 
influence  was  necessarily  limited  to  the  comparatively  few  who 
had  the  opportunity  and  inclination  to  attend  their  institu- 
tions. In  the  other  it  extended  directly  or  indirectly  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  entire  country.  Their  instruction  was  at 
first  intended  only  for  their  immediate  followers,  who  were  to 
attain  the  higher  ideals  of  Christian  life  with  greater  security. 
In  the  plan  of  Divine  Providence  they  were  destined  to  a  groat 
deal  more  than  to  accomplish  their  primary  aim. 

Since  the  use  of  meat  as  food  was  limited,  sometimes  alto- 


•*  IMd.,  Book  14,  p.  613. 

"Ibid..  Book  14,  p.  613;  also  Grupp,  Georg,  Kulturgeschichte  des  Mit- 
telaUers,  Paderborn,  1907,  Vol.  1,  p.  261. 

70  Grupp.  Georg,  Kulturgeschichte  des  Mittelalters,  p.  264,  Vol.  2. 

71  IUd..  p.  264. 


30     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

gether  prohibited  by  the  rules  and  customs  of  the  monasteries, 
it  became  necessary  to  raise  fruit  and  vegetables.  The  result 
of  their  labor  in  procuring  the  necessaries  of  life  was  so  mar- 
velous that  the  people  deemed  it  supernatural;  they  thought 
that  the  monks  needed  but  to  touch  the  ground  with  a  fork  or 
a  spade  and  the  work  of  cultivation  was  completed.  Again,  the 
legends  tell  us  of  wild  beasts  that  left  the  forests  and  volun- 
tarily offered  their  services  to  the  plough-man;  of  the  bitter 
fruit  of  a  tree  made  sweet  and  palatable  by  the  touch  of  the 
saint's  hand.  In  these  and  similar  legends  we  recognize  the 
monk  as  the  successful  tiller  of  hitherto  unproductive  soil ;  we 
see  him  taming  and  domesticating  wild  animals,  and  we  learn 
that  the  art  of  grafting  was  not  unknown  to  the  monk  of  the 
sixth  century.72 

The  comment  of  Augustus  Jessopp  on  the  monasteries  of 
England  could  well  be  applied  to  any  one  of  these  institutions 
that  sprang  up  in  great  numbers  in  all  parts  of  Europe.  He 
says:  "It  is  difficult  for  us  now  to  realize  what  a  vast  hive 
of  industry  a  great  monastery  in  some  of  the  lonely  and  thinly 
populated  parts  of  England  was.  Everything  that  was  eaten 
or  drunk  or  worn,  almost  everything  that  was  made  or  used  in 
a  monastery,  was  produced  upon  the  spot.  The  grain  grew  on 
their  own  land ;  the  corn  was  ground  in  their  own  mills ;  their 
clothes  were  made  from  the  wool  of  their  own  sheep ;  they  had 
their  own  tailors  and  shoemakers  and  carpenters  and  black- 
smiths almost  within  call;  they  kept  their  own  bees;  they 
grew  their  own  garden-stuff  and  their  own  fruit.  I  suspect  that 
they  knew  more  of  fish  culture  than,  until  very  lately,  we 
moderns  could  boast  of  knowing.  They  had  their  own  vine- 
yards and  made  their  own  wine."73  The  diversity  of  occupa 
tions  offered  by  the  monasteries  to  their  members  was  largely 
the  cause  of  the  rapid  increase  of  their  numbers.  In  Vienne 
and  vicinity  there  were  twelve  hundred  monks  and  nuns  as 
early  as  the  seventh  century,  or  scarcely  one  hundred  years 
after  monasticism  had  been  established  in  the  Occident.  Each 
convent  soon  possessed  a  school,  with  an  attendance  that  seems 
incredibly  large  in  our  day,  because  the  conditions  in  which 


.,  Vol.  I,  p.  135. 
Jessopp,  Augustus,  The  Coming  of  the  Friars,  New  York,  1892,  p.  143. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     31 

we  live  are  very  different.  Thus  St.  Finian's  school,  in  the 
first  halt'  of  the  sixth  century,  is  said  to  have  had  three  thou- 
sand students;  this  number,  though  large,  is  not  absurd,  for 
instruction  was  given  out  of  doors  and  the  students  did  not 
live  in  one  building.  They  dwelt  in  huts  constructed  by  them- 
selves, and,  as  the  convent  rule  prescribed,  earned  their  living 
by  the  work  of  their  hands.74 

Gustav  Schmoller,  in  tracing  the  development  of  industries, 
expresses  his  appreciation  of  the  work  done  in  the  convents  when 
he  says  that  it  was  in  these  schools  that  workmen  were  trained 
and  artists  developed.  Architects  and  painters,  sculptors  and 
goldsmiths,  bookbinders  and  metalworkers  were  the  products 
of  technical  instruction  given  in  the  monasteries.  The  schools 
of  the  Benedictines  were  the  schools  of  technical  progress  from 
the  seventh  to  the  eleventh  century.75 

In  the  course  of  time  different  orders  were  founded  having 
different  aims,  and  new  spheres  of  activity  were  created.  We 
have  in  this  an  anticipation  of  the  diversity  of  occupation  in 
the  different  guilds  to  which  the  monastic  schools  gave  rise. 
"The  studious,  the  educational,  the  philanthropic,  the  agricul- 
tural element — all  to  some  extent  made  part  of  the  old  mon- 
astic system."76 

The  very  nature  of  the  work  done  by  the  monks  necessarily 
affected  the  people  of  the  surrounding  country.  When  they 
made  roads  and  bridges,  erected  hospitals  and  churches,  and 
brought  large  tracts  of  land  under  cultivation,  they  offered 
objective  teaching  to  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity.  This 
work  was  done  especially  by  the  Carthusians,  who  were  occu- 
pied with  providing  asylums  for  the  sick  and  the  poor,  with 
building  schools  and  churches,  with  erecting  bridges  and  mak- 
ing streets;  in  the  neighborhood  of  Chartreuse  this  work  has 
been  continued  down  to  the  twentieth  century,  and  the  means 
wherewith  to  do  this  work  is  obtained  by  the  proceeds  of  their 
own  labor.77 


74Denk,  Otto,  Geschichte  dcs  Gallo-FrdnJcischen  Unterrichts,  p. 
252-260. 

75  Schmoller,  Gustav,  Die  Strassburger  Tucher  u.  Weberzunft,  Strasp- 
burg,  1879,  p.  361;  also  Heimbucher,  Max,  Die  Orden  u.  Kongregationen 
der  Katholischen  Kirche,  Paterborn,  1897,  Vol.  I,  p.  191. 

Ti  Eckenstein,  L.,  Women  Under  Monasticism,  Cambridge,  1896,  p.  186; 
also  Eberstadt,  Rudolf,  Der  Ur sprung  des  Zunftwesens,  Leipzig,  1900, 
pp.  139-140. 

"  Heimbucher,  Max,  Orden  u.  Kongregationen,  Vol.  I,  p.  259. 


32     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

In  the  monastery  of  medieval  times  the  baker,  the  butcher, 
the  shoemaker,  the  tanner,  the  saddler,  the  smith,  and  the 
carver  were  able  to  produce  articles  of  superior  quality,  and 
therefore  became  the  teachers  of  the  colonists  in  all  their  occu- 
pations, and  they  were  instrumental  in  the  formation  of  guilds 
and  fraternal  societies.78  The  work  within  the  convent  was 
originally  performed  by  the  members,  but  the  increase  of  their 
estates  made  it  necessary  to  employ  many  other  workmen. 
This  gave  to  lay  people  an  opportunity  to  learn  a  regular  trade 
and  directly  effected  the  spread  of  the  industries  in  the  vicin- 
ity.79 Besides  this,  the  monks  tried  to  attract  tradesmen  from 
afar  and  employed  free  handworkers,  which  indicates  their 
solicitude  for  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  whatever  progress  had 
been  made  elsewhere.80 

In  this  manner  they  succeeded  in  training  men  to  skilled 
labor  that  in  time  of  need  for  prompt  action — e.  g.,  the  erection 
of  barracks  in  the  process  of  a  campaign — each  man,  the  low- 
liest soldier  as  well  as  the  highest  official,  was  able  to  con- 
tribute his  share  with  great  skill  and  speed,  and  the  entire 
work  was  completed  in  a  few  minutes.81  With  like  zeal  and 
eagerness  did  men  devote  themselves  to  the  building  of  churches, 
but  this  work  remained  almost  exclusively  the  work  of  the 
monks  until  the  twelfth  century.  The  monasteries  of  Cluny, 
Corvey,  Fulda,  St.  Gall,  and  Paderborn  were  veritable  schools 
of  architecture.  In  the  last-named  convent  a  Benedictine 
monk  of  the  thirteenth  century  executed  the  most  important 
monument  of  early  medieval  sculpture.82 

Special  attention  was  also  given  to  art  and  architecture  in 
the  Dominican  convents,  notably  those  in  Italy.  The  church  of 
St.  Maria  Novella,  in  Florence,  which  was  built  by  them,  was 
daily  visited  by  Michel  Angelo,  who  pronounced  it  "beautiful, 
simple  and  pure  as  a  bride."83  It  is  remarkable  that  we  find 
few  names  of  the  skillful  artists  who  left  us  such  a  wealth  of 
beauty  in  design  and  ornamentation,  which  even  in  the  bare 

T8Muller,  Walther,  Zur  Frage  des  Ursprungs  der  Mittelalterlichen 
Zunlte  Leipzig,  1910,  p.  67. 

T»  Grupp,  Georg,  Kulturgesehichte  des  Mittelalters,  Vol.  II,  pp.  260-263. 
99  Ibid.,  p.  142. 
81  Ibid.,  p.  146. 

84  Heimbucher,  Max,  Orden  u.  Kongregationen,  Vol.  I,  p.  191. 
M  Ibid.,  p.  573. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     33 

fragmentary  remains  is  a  source  of  unending  wonder  and 
delight. 

Like  the  building  of  churches,  so  also  their  decoration  by 
painting  and  sculpture  was  almost  solely  done  by  the  monks. 
They  taught  the  theory  as  well  as  the  practice  of  art  in  these 
early  ages,  as  is  evident  from  the  books  compiled  on  the  subject. 
Theophilus,  a  Benedictine  monk,  who  died  in  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury, was  the  author  of  a  work  which  gave  directions  for 
painting.84  And  a  nun  of  St.  Catherine's  Convent,  in  Nuren- 
berg,  wrote  one  which  gave  instructions  for  making  glass 
pictures  in  mosaic.85 

The  extensive  and  valuable  libraries  that  were  begun  and 
enlarged  by  the  monks  indicate  their  high  esteem  for  learning. 
Those  of  the  Benedictines  rank  foremost  among  the  libraries 
of  all  orders.86  Vocational  training  was  not  only  no  detriment 
to  the  cultivation  of  letters,  but  rather  aided  the  progress  of 
education,  for  some  of  the  most  famous  teachers  of  the  order 
were  masters  in  the  manual  arts.  The  biography  of  Easter- 
wine  gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  eleventh  century  monk:  "His 
duties  were  to  thrash  and  winnow  the  corn,  to  milk  the  goats 
and  cows,  to  take  his  turn  in  the  kitchen,  the  bakehouse,  and 
the  garden ;  always  humble  and  joyous  in  his  obedience,  .  .  . 
and  when  his  duties  as  superior  led  him  out  of  doors  to  where 
the  monks  labored  in  the  fields,  he  set  to  work  along  with 
them,  taking  the  plough  or  the  fan  in  his  own  hands,  or  forg- 
ing iron  upon  the  anvil."87  When  we  consider  what  the  atti- 
tude of  the  wealthy  had  for  centuries  been  toward  labor  and 
the  laborer,  we  can  readily  understand  the  surprise  that  must 
have  been  caused  among  the  people  when  a  proud  nobleman 
responded  meekly  to  the  call  of  obedience  and  performed  the 
work  which  hitherto  had  been  done  for  him  by  the  servant  and 
the  slave.  It  is  because  the  monks  did  not  disdain  the  most 
humble  occupations  as  a  means  of  advancing,  instructing,  civil- 
izing and  converting  the  pagans  that  they  accomplished  their 
great  task  of  converting  Europe,  for  thus  they  approached  the 
lowliest  and  gained  their  confidence  and  good  will.  St.  Wil- 

M  Ibid.,  Vol.  I,  p.  190. 

M  Janssen,  J.,  History  of  the  German  People,  translation  by  Mitchell, 
London,  1905,  Vol.  I,  Book  II,  p.  213. 

M  Heimbucher,  Max,  Orden  u.  Kongregationen,  Vol.  I,  p.  189. 
17  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the  West.  Boston,  1872,  Vol.  II,  p.  502. 


34     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

frid,  as  he  sought  refuge  among  the  pagans  in  the  kingdoms 
of  the  Southern  Saxons,  taught  his  future  converts,  who  were 
then  suffering  from  a  famine  caused  by  a  drought  of  three 
years'  duration,  a  new  means  of  gaining  their  subsistence  by 
fishing  with  nets.88 

The  monks  possessed  the  confidence  of  the  people  to  such  a 
degree  that  parents  entrusted  to  their  keeping  children  at  the 
tender  age  of  five,  for  no  other  place  offered  such  opportunities 
to  train  them  in  the  sciences  and,  more  important  still,  in  the 
art  of  leading  good  Christian  lives.89  The  moral  value  of  labor 
was  practically  demonstrated  each  day,  labor  itself  being 
transformed  into  prayer.  For  "the  Church  enlisted  art  in  the 
service  of  God,  making  use  of  it  as  a  valuable  supplement  to 
the  written  and  oral  instruction  which  she  gave  the  people. 
Artists  thus  became  her  allies  in  the  task  of  setting  forth  the 
beauties  of  the  Gospel  to  the  poor  and  unlearned.  All  the 
great  artists  grasped  with  fidelity  this  idea  of  the  mission  of 
art,  and  turned  their  talents  into  a  means  for  the  service  of 
God  and  man.  Their  aim  was  not  to  exalt  beauty  for  its  own 
sake,  making  an  altar  and  idol  of  it,  but  rather  for  the  setting 
forth  of  God's  will."90  Art  itself,  though  used  as  an  instrument 
to  teach  and  elevate  by  means  of  symbols,  did  not  suffer  on 
that  account,  nor  was  its  development  in  any  way  hindered. 
On  the  contrary,  never  did  man  produce  finer  masterpieces  in 
painting,  sculpture  and  architecture  than  when  his  motive  was 
only  to  accomplish  his  work  for  the  greater  glory  of  God.  Such 
works  were  not  accomplished  when  the  motive  was  pecuniary 
gain  or  self-glorification.  The  disinterestedness  of  these  art- 
ists is  shown  by  complete  indifference  to  perpetuating  their 
names  with  their  work. 

Some  of  the  most  exquisite  creations  of  art  were  produced 
by  some  unknown,  unnamed  artist.  In  some  cases  an  initial  is 
the  only  indication  that  tells  us  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for 
the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  expression  of  the  author's  noble 
thoughts.  In  many  more  cases  there  is  no  indication  whatso- 
ever of  the  artist's  name.91 


.,  Vol.  II,  pp.  681-683. 
89Denk,  Otto,  Geschichte  des  Gallo-Frankischen  Unterrichts,  p.  194. 
*°  Janssen,  J.,  History  of  the  German  People,  Vol.  I,  Book  2,  p.  167. 
81  Sighart,  J.,  Geschichte  u.  Kunstdenkmale,  Bavaria,  Landes  in  Volks- 
kunde,  Miinchen,  1860,  Vol.  II,  pp.  975-976. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     35 

Scarcely  had  a  nation  issued  from  the  night  of  paganism, 
being  instructed  in  the  mysteries  of  faith  and  the  laws  of 
morality,  when  the  Church  through  her  ministers  hastened  to 
reveal  to  her  children  the  pleasures  of  the  mind  and  the  beauties 
of  art.  This  work  had  begun  in  the  catacombs  at  the  tombs  of 
the  martyrs  and  then  reappeared  in  the  great  mosaics  which 
still  decorate  the  apses  of  the  primitive  churches  in  Kome.  In 
the  seventh  century  Benedict  Biscop  brought  to  England  both 
painters  and  mosaic  workers  from  the  continent  to  decorate 
his  churches.  Thereby  he  obtained  the  twofold  result  of  in- 
structing the  learned  and  unlearned  by  the  attractive  image 
and  also  of  fostering  among  the  Anglo-Saxons  the  practice  of 
art,  architecture  and  glassmaking.92  In  the  following  century 
Ceolfrid,  who  could  wield  the  trowel  as  well  as  the  crosier, 
complied  with  the  request  made  by  the  King  of  the  Picts  and 
sent  his  monks  to  Scotland  where  they  introduced  Christian 
architecture.93 

With  marvelous  rapidity  the  work  of  transformation  went 
on  and  the  ninth  century  witnessed  flourishing  monasteries 
in  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  description  of  one  of  these  is 
given  in  the  following  words :  "Looking  down  from  the  craggy 
mountains  the  traveller  would  have  stood  amazed  at  the  sudden 
apparition  of  that  vast  range  of  stately  buildings  which  almost 
filled  up  the  valley  at  his  feet.  Churches  and  cloisters,  the 
offices  of  a  great  abbey,  buildings  set  apart  for  students  and 
guests,  workshops  of  every  description,  the  forge,  the  bake- 
house and  the  mills;  and  then  the  house  occupied  by  the  vast 
numbers  of  artisans  and  workmen  attached  to  the  monastery; 
gardens  too,  and  vineyards  creeping  np  the  mountain  slopes, 
and  beyond  them  fields  of  waving  corn,  and  sheep  speckling  the 
green  meadows,  and  far  away  boats  busily  plying  on  the  lake 
and  carrying  goods  and  passengers — what  a  world  it  was  of  life 
and  activity;  yet  how  unlike  the  activity  of  a  town.  It  was?,  in 
fact,  not  a  town,  but  a  house,  a  family  presided  over  by  a  father, 
whose  members  were  all  knit  together  in  the  bonds  of  common 
fraternity.  Descend  into  the  valley,  and  visit  all  these  nurseries 
of  useful  toil,  see  the  crowds  of  rude  peasants  transformed  into 

•2  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the  West,  Vol.  II,  p.  496. 
"ibid.,  Vol.  II,  p.  516;   also  Sighart,  Landes  u.  Volkskunde,  Vol.  I, 
p.  260. 


36     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

intelligent  artisans,  and  you  will  find  that  the  monks  of  St. 
Gall  had  found  out  the  secret  of  creating  a  world  of  happy 
Christian  factories."94  It  was  in  this  hive  of  activity  that  we 
find  St.  Toutilo,  the  famous  teacher,  expert  musician  and 
master  in  the  art  of  painting,  architecture  and  sculpture.95  In 
those  days  the  ability  to  construct,  as  well  as  to  play,  the  organ 
or  other  musical  instrument  was  required  of  the  musician.96 

St.  Dunstan  in  the  tenth  century  obliged  his  parish  priests 
to  teach  the  children  of  their  parishioners  grammar,  the  Church 
chant,  and  some  useful  handicraft  trade.97  This  proves  that  not 
only  did  the  children,  who  enjoyed  a  monastic  education,  receive 
vocational  training,  but  also  the  less  fortunately  situated  of 
the  parishioners.  A  typical  example  of  the  kind  of  education 
received  by  a  young  nobleman  of  the  tenth  century  is  that  of 
Bernward,  a  talented  Saxon  noble  whose  education  was  en- 
trusted to  Thangmar  in  the  Convent  of  Hildesheim.  He  was 
instructed  not  merely  in  all  the  sciences  of  the  schools,  but 
also  in  the  practical  and  mechanical  arts,  leaving  none  un- 
tried.98 

When  he  became  Bishop  of  Hildesheim  the  beneficial  effects 
of  his  education  were  apparent  to  all  under  his  jurisdiction, 
for  he  promoted  the  spread  of  Christian  education,  the  arts  and 
mechanics.  For  this  purpose  he  established  convents,  engaged 
sculptors,  painters  and  metallists  whose  workshops  he  visited 
daily  and  whose  work  he  inspected  personally.  He  provided 
means  for  boys  and  youths  to  learn  what  was  most  worthy  of 
imitation  in  any  art ;  he  took  those  who  were  talented  with  him 
to  court  and  gave  them  the  opportunity  to  accompany  him  when 
he  travelled;  he  encouraged  them  to  practice  any  handicraft 
of  which  they  had  gained  knowledge.99  In  this  manner  he 
succeeded  in  sharing  with  his  people  the  fruits  of  his  voca- 
tional training  and  his  talents  that  had  been  developed  in 
the  monastery  which  he  finally  entered,  five  years  before  his 
death.100 


•*  Drane,  A.,  Christian  Schools  and  Scholars.    New  York,  1910,  p.  170. 
M  Specht,  F.  A.,  Geschichte  des  Unterrichtswesens.     Stuttgart,  1885, 
p.  319. 

"IMd.,  p.  360. 

"  Drane,  A.,  Christian  Schools  and  Scholars,  p.  218. 

•«  Specht,  F.  A.,  Geschichte  des  Unterrichtswesens,  p.  343. 

MIUd.t  pp.  343-344. 

l<»Ibid.,  p.  344. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     37 

Like  Bernward,  so  also  his  contemporary,  Abbot  Godehard 
of  Altaich,  was  renowned  for  furthering  the  progress  of  arts 
and  sciences.  He  was  skilled  in  the  mechanic  arts,  being  one  of 
the  greatest  architects  and  metallists  of  Bavaria.  Among 
other  works  he  produced  a  Bible  of  wonderful  beauty,  all  the 
material  used  in  its  construction  being  prepared  by  his  own 
hands.101  Godehard's  influence  on  industry  asserted  itself  in 
the  next  generation  when  those  men  who  had  profited  by  his 
instruction  became  conspicuous  for  their  skill  in  the  various  oc- 
cupations for  their  artistic  ability. 

Whatever  progress  had  been  made  in  the  arts  and  industries 
up  to  the  tenth  century  was  due  to  the  monastic  schools.  One 
convent  may  have  excelled  in  some  particular  branch  of  work ; 
e.  g.,  Tegernsee  was  noted  for  the  production  of  writing  materials 
and  for  its  monks  well  skilled  in  painting,  glass-staining  and 
mechanic  arts;  Cluny  and  Paderborn  were  famous  for  the 
architects  that  they  produced;  and  the  Cistercians  were  re- 
nowned for  their  achievements  in  agriculture.102  But  the  aim 
of  each  foundation  was  to  help  all  human  creatures  to  obtain 
true  peace  and  happiness;  and,  next  to  prayer,  they  knew  no 
more  potent  means  to  accomplish  this  than  labor  performed 
joyfully  and  well  for  a  noble  motive. 

The  deep-seated  prejudice  against  manual  work  gradually 
gave  way  under  the  influence  of  the  teaching  of  the  Church  and 
the  example  of  the  monks  who  labored  with  untiring  zeal. 
Fostered  by  the  Church,  the  guilds  attained  a  wonderful  de- 
velopment; these  taught  their  members  to  regard  labor  as  the 
complement  of  prayer  and  the  foundation  of  a  well-regulated 
life.  The  aim  was  protection  of  the  common  interests  of  the 
laboring  class,  but  for  motives  similar  to  those  that  prevailed 
in  the  monasteries.  God's  law  and  Christian  love  were  the  domi- 
nant factors  in  shaping  the  character  of  these  associations.103 
During  the  tenth  and  eleventh  centuries  these  guilds  came  to  be 
firmly  established  and  in  a  few  centuries  their  beneficial  in- 
fluence pervaded  all  the  continent.  In  the  meantime  the  Cis- 
tercians had  become  the  recognized  teachers  of  all  branches  of 


101  /bid.,  p.  389. 

1W  Heimbucher,  Max,  Orden  u.  Kongregationen,  Vol.  I,  p.  191.     Also, 
Schmoller,  Gustav,  Die  Strassburger  Tucher  u.  Weberzunft,  p.  7. 
1M  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  Guilds,  p.  67  and  p.  70. 


38     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

agriculture.  Local  and  national  sympathy  were  enlisted  by 
the  Cistercians  since  they  favored  every  kind  of  outdoor  pur- 
suit. Of  them  especially  can  it  be  said  that  "they  turned  woods 
into  fields,  they  constructed  water-conduits  and  water-mills, 
they  cultivated  gardens,  orchards,  and  vineyards,  they  were 
successful  in  rearing  cattle,  in  breeding  horses,  in  keeping  bees, 
in  regulating  fishing,  and  they  made  glass  and  procured  the 
precious  metals."104  The  occupations  of  the  religious  in  the  Cis- 
tercian nunneries  were  of  a  similar  nature;  "they  sewed  and 
span,  and  went  into  the  woods  where  they  grubbed  up  briars 
and  thorns."105 

The  range  of  subjects  generally  taught  in  the  nunneries  was 
wide.  For  this  reason  life  in  the  convent  was  very  attractive 
to  the  daughters  of  the  mediaeval  knight  and  soldier,  since  it 
offered  the  companionship  of  equals  and  a  careful  training  of 
hand  and  mind ;  it  was  a  welcome  relief  from  the  monotony  of 
life  in  the  castle  at  a  time  when  men  were  more  frequently 
found  on  the  battlefield  than  in  their  homes.106  Monasteries 
for  women  had  developed  rapidly  and  exerted  a  social  and  in- 
tellectual influence  such  as  rarely  has  fallen  to  the  lot  of 
women's  religious  settlements  in  the  course  of  history.  Some 
of  these  became  centers  of  art  industry  and  remained  so  to  the 
time  of  the  Reformation.  In  fact,  the  history  of  art  at  this 
period  is  identical  with  the  history  of  the  productions  in  the 
monasteries.  The  technique  of  weaving  and  the  art  of  design 
were  brought  to  their  highest  perfection  in  the  nunnery.107 

If  an  institution  may  be  judged  for  efficiency  by  what  has 
been  accomplished  it  must  be  said  that  a  system  of  education 
which  developed  the  capabilities  of  such  women  as  Hrosvith 
of  Gandersheim,108  Herrad,  abbess  of  Hohenburg,109  Hildegard 
of  Bingen,110  St.  Elizabeth  of  Schonau111  and  Queen  Ma- 
thilda,112 was  admirably  suited  to  develop  vocations.  The  in- 

104  Eckenstein,  L.,  Women  Under  Monasticism,  p.  190. 
108 /bid.,  p.  191.     Also,  Heimbucher,  Max,  Orden  u.  Kongregationen, 
p.  232  and  p.  425. 

106  Eckenstein,  L.,  Women  Under  Monasticism,  p.  149. 

1OT  Ibid.,  pp.  222-224. 

108  IMd.,  pp.  154-183. 

™lMd.,  pp.  238-256. 

l»IUd.,  pp.  256-286. 

111 /&id.,  pp.  285-305. 

112  Specht,  F.  A.,  Geschichte  des  Unterrichtswesens,  p.  277. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     39 

struction  given  in  the  convent  prepared  both  men  and  women 
for  any  career  they  desired  to  choose.  This  education  was 
practical  for  the  future  wife  and  mother  since  occupations 
proper  to  their  sex  were  not  neglected.113  The  arts  of  weaving, 
spinning,  embroidering  and  other  household  occupations  in 
which  daughters  had  been  instructed  by  their  mothers  were 
gradually  transferred  to  the  curriculum  of  the  convent  school 
from  the  sixth  century  onward.114  Schools  for  interns  pro- 
vided for  the  proper  training  in  the  religious  vocation  and 
schools  for  externs  which  were  established  in  all  larger  mona- 
steries prepared  students  for  'a  useful  life  outside  of  the  con- 
vent. No  woman's  education  was  considered  to  be  complete  if 
she  was  not  efficient  in  the  domestic  arts;  even  if  she  was 
destined  to  wear  the  crown  she  was  still  expected  to  be  well 
able  to  conduct  the  household  even  as  Queen  Mathilda  did,  who 
taught  her  servants  the  arts  she  herself  had  learned  in  the  con- 
vent of  Herford.115 

The  directions  that  St.  Jerome  had  given  to  Laeta  as  to  her 
daughter's  education  were  followed  almost  without  exception 
in  all  nunneries.  In  regard  to  the  pursuit  of  religious  and 
literary  studies  the  course  closely  resembled  that  pursued  by 
the  monks  up  to  the  time  of  the  rise  of  the  Universities.116  On 
the  whole  they  were  the  first  institutions  that  undertook  the  edu- 
cation of  woman  on  a  large  scale.  Taught  more  by  example 
than  by  precept,  the  young  women  so  trained  were  able  to  ac- 
quit themselves  creditably  of  the  work  they  undertook  later 
in  life.  Since  a  convent  education  gave  so  much  satisfaction 
it  was  appreciated  by  parents  and  it  was  sought  for  by  the 
daughters  of  the  nobles,  with  whom  it  was  usual  to  enter  upon 
their  future  career  after  having  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  train- 
ing in  a  convent  school.117 

The  thirteenth  century  was  especially  prolific  in  archi- 
tectural structures  which  previously  had  been  erected  mainly 


1U  McCormick,  P.  J.,  Education  of  the  Laity  in  the  Middle  Ages,  p. 
20.  Also,  Montalembert,  Monks  of  the  West,  Book  XV,  p.  690. 

114  Denk,  Otto,  Geschichte  des  Gallo-Frankischen  Unterrichts,  p.  264. 
(  Specht,  F.  A.,  Geschichte  des  Unterrichtswesens,  Part  2,  pp.  280-285. 

lli  Denk,  Otto,  Geschichte  des  Gallo-Frankischen  Unterrichts,  p.  263. 

i:TGasquet,  Abbot,  English  Monastic  Life,  London,  1910,  p.  177. 
Also,  McCormick,  P.  J.,  Education  of  the  Laity  in  the  Middle  Ages,  pp. 
45-46. 


40     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

by  the  monks.  This  art  had  grown  to  greatness  in  the  mona- 
steries and  manifested  itself  most  exuberantly  in  the  erection 
of  buildings  and  cathedrals,  which  arose  during  this  century 
in  every  part  of  the  country,  even  in  places  whose  population 
was  less  than  that  of  an  ordinary  town  or  village  of  today. 
Historians  who  have  made  a  study  of  the  productions  of  this 
period  assert  that  these  monuments  of  architectural  beauty 
were  almost  exclusively  the  work  of  local  craftsmen.118  Great 
and  glorious  success  had  crowned  the  perseverance  of  the  mon- 
astic teacher,  for  the  rude  peasant  of  a  few  centuries  ago  had 
been  replaced  by  the  intelligent  and  systematic  laborer,  then 
by  the  skilled  mechanic  and  artist  until  "we  get  fairly  be- 
wildered by  the  astonishing  wealth  of  skill  and  artistic  taste 
and  aesthetic  feeling  which  there  must  have  been  in  times 
which  till  lately  we  had  assumed  to  be  barbaric  times."119  Art 
Irad  grown  out  of  manual  work  as  a  flower  grows  from  its  stem. 
The  distinction  between  the  artist  and  the  artisan  was  not 
sharply  drawn  as  we  see  by  the  signatures  of  names  in  early 
documents.  A  simple  ''joiner"  or  "stonecutter"  or  "copper- 
smith" is  the  modest  appendage  to  the  names  of  men  who  today 
are  acknowledged  as  artists  of  great  ability.120  So  well  did 
each  individual  laborer  accomplish  his  part  of  the  grand  whole 
that  critics  now  declare  the  cathedrals  to  be  "noble  Christian 
poems  embodied  in  stone  and  color."121  The  student  of  today 
finds  no  better  models  on  which  to  exercise  his  imitative  ability 
than  the  work  done  seven  centuries  ago;  he  is  encouraged  to 
strive  for  equal  skill  by  tireless  study  and  observation. 

We  marvel  that  with  implements  so  crude  in  comparison  with 
ours  and  with  material  so  inadequate  for  the  purpose  of  the 
artist,  the  productions  of  the  Middle  Ages  should  be  as  a  whole 
and  in  every  detail  so  far  superior  to  our  own.  The  cathedrals 
of  the  thirteenth  century  and  the  stained  glass  windows  that 
adorn  them  are  an  unending  delight,  even  in  their  fragmentary 
remains,  and  far  superior  to  anything  made  since  the  thirteenth 

1:8Jessopp,  Augustus,  Before  the  Great  Pillage.  London,  1901,  pp. 
24-25. 

118  Ibid.,  p.  25.  Also,  Janssen,  J.,  History  of  the  German  People,  Vol.  I. 
p.  164. 

]2°  Janssen,  J.,  History  of  the  German  People,  Vol.  I,  Book  II,  p.  241. 

121  Walsh,  James  J.,  The  Thirteenth  Greatest  of  Centuries.  New  York, 
1913,  p.  11. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     41 

century.  The  reason  for  the  excellence  of  his  work  is  to  be 
found  in  the  motive  which  actuated  the  workman.  He  was  very 
probably  uneducated,  in  the  modern  sense  of  the  term,  with 
little  ability  to  read  and  write ;  but  he  had  the  mental  develop- 
ment which  enabled  him  to  design  and  execute  the  work  as- 
signed to  him,  and  to  do  this  as  perfectly  as  it  is  ordinarily  pos- 
sible for  any  man.  The  workmen  heard  the  beautiful  Scrip- 
ture narratives  and  reproduced  them  in  the  drama  which  was 
then  so  popular.  In  these  plays  every  artisan  actually  lived 
his  part  as  a  biblical  character,  and  his  later  work  showed  the 
result  of  the  inspiration  and  knowledge  thus  obtained.  Besides 
he  had  ample  opportunity  to  observe  from  childhood  days  how 
much  care  was  taken  in  each  minor  detail  of  constructive 
work.122  The  aim  of  the  workman  was  not  to  hasten  the  com- 
pletion of  any  article,  nor  the  desire  to  obtain  their  pay ;  they 
strove  rather  to  produce  something  that  would  be  best  adapted 
to  the  end  for  which  it  was  intended  and  at  the  same  time  be 
a  source  of  pleasure  for  those  who  were  to  see  or  use  it.  What 
has  been  said  of  the  authors  who  wrote  the  literary  master- 
pieces of  the  thirteenth  century  can  be  applied  with  equal  truth 
to  the  artisan  and  the  artist.  They  "had  evidently  not  as  yet 
become  sophisticated  to  the  extent  of  seeking  immortality  for 
their  works.  They  even  seem  to  have  been  indifferent  as  to 
whether  their  names  were  associated  with  them  or  not.  Enough 
for  them  apparently  to  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  doing,  all 
else  seemed  futile."123 

But  no  matter  how  lofty  the  ideal,  how  sublime  the  motive 
may  have  been,  the  construction  of  such  buildings  required  in 
addition  such  skill  as  could  only  have  been  acquired  by  careful 
'and  systematic  training.  There  must  have  been  technical 
schools  in  abundance,  though  they  were  not  called  by  that 
modern  and  ambitious  name.  The  erection  of  each  cathedral 
and  abbey  church,  since  it  extended  over  a  considerable  period 
of  time,  in  no  instance  less  than  twenty-five  years  while  some- 
times more  than  a  century  expired  before  its  completion,  was 
in  itself  a  center  of  technical  education  for  the  growing 
youth.124  The  greatest  factor  in  the  spread  of  technical  knowl- 

m  Walsh,  James  J.,  The  Thirteenth  Greatest  of  Centuries,  pp.  110-111. 
"»JZ>t<J.,  p.  211. 

1M  Walsh,  J.  J.,  The  Thirteenth  Greatest  of  Centuries,  Appendix,  pp. 
469-470. 


42     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

edge  was  the  system  of  guilds.  These  had  originated  in  many 
instances  in  the  form  of  fraternities,  often  established  and 
fostered  by  the  Church.  In  the  first  half  of  the  twelfth  century 
these  fraternities,  whose  object  had  been  of  a  religious  nature, 
began  to  change,  -and  grew  into  societies  and  unions  having  a 
civil  purpose.125  The  guilds  had  three  aims  in  view,  namely :  To 
administer  Christian  charity  to  the  aged,  the  sick,  the  poor,  and 
those  suffering  temporarily  from  losses  by  fire,  flood  or  ship- 
wreck ;  to  promote  education  by  aiding  poor  scholars  and  sup- 
porting schools  and  school-masters ;  and  to  aid  in  the  propaga- 
tion of  the  faith  by  representing  biblical  truth  in  plays.126 
Since  the  guilds-apprentices  received  their  instruction  gratis, 
the  guilds  wielded  a  greater  influence  in  spreading  technical 
training  than  any  other  institution  of  the  thirteenth  century127 
though  many  architects  were  still  to  be  found  outside  the  guilds 
in  the  monasteries. 

The  fourteenth  century  marks  a  period  of  retrogression  in  the 
quality  of  mechanical  and  artistic  work.  The  chief  reason  for 
this  was  the  substitution  of  a  lower  motive  for  the  high  ideal  of 
the  thirteenth  century  workman.  During  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury "the  great  idea  of  association  for  mutual  help  gave  place 
to  the  narrow-minded  spirit  of  the  mere  acquisition  of  capital ; 
petty  rivalries  and  hateful  egotism  prevailed  over  brotherhood 
and  equality  of  rights ;  the  rich  withdrew  to  separate  guilds  and 
there  arose  internal  disputes."128  The  very  institutions  which 
had  been  the  means  of  securing  rights  and  privileges  for  the 
workman  degenerated  into  mere  capitalist's  societies,  and  jeal- 
ousy among  the  various  guilds,  as  well  as  laws  enacted  against 
them,  caused  their  decay.129 

The  Renaissance  which  began  at  this  period  contributed  to 
the  retrogression  of  art  in  so  far  as  one  result  of  this  move- 
ment was  to  under-value  the  work  done  by  artists  and  archi- 
tects of  the  previous  century.  Then  followed  the  socalled  Refor- 
mation with  its  detrimental  effects  upon  the  school  systems  gen- 
erally,130 and  the  wanton  destruction  of  artistic  products  in 

m  Eberstadt,  Rudolf,  Der  Ursprung  des  Zunftwesens,  pp.  139-140. 

1M  Howell,  George,  Conflicts  of  Capital  and  Labor,  London,  1878,  p.  6. 

m  Janssen,  J.,  History  of  the  German  People,  Vol.  I,  p.  167. 

ls§  Howell,  George,  Conflicts  of  Capital  and  Labor,  p.  56. 

12t  Ibid.,  p.  68. 

140  McCormick,  P.  J.,  History  of  Education,  pp.  211-212  and  p.  225. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     43 

particular.131  Under  such  adverse  circumstances  it  is  not  sur- 
prising that  the  mechanical  arts  declined  and  barely  survived. 
However,  when  the  Jesuits  labored  among  the  American  In- 
dians in  the  seventeenth  century  they  built  beautiful  churches 
and  furnished  them  artistically.  They  attracted  the  savages 
by  the  tones  of  musical  instruments  which  the  Fathers  con- 
structed in  the  forests  of  the  New  World.  Before  long  they  had 
succeeded  in  imparting  to  the  Indians  not  only  a  knowledge 
of  Christian  truths,  but  also  in  instructing  them  in  agriculture 
and  the  arts  of  peace.132  This  course  of  civilizing,  Christianiz- 
ing and  educating  the  Indians  which  the  Jesuits  adopted  was 
followed  by  all  other  missionaries  among  the  natives,  and 
proved  to  be  the  only  successful  method  of  securing  for  them 
the  blessings  of  civilization.  Attracted  by  that  which  is  pleas- 
ing and  beautiful,  then  given  the  opportunity  to  imitate  and 
reproduce  that  which  they  admired,  they  gradually  acquired 
habits  of  industry  and  culture. 

Many  religious  congregations  that  were  founded  in  the  last 
two  centuries  were  established  for  the  express  purpose  of  help- 
ing the  poor  classes  by  means  of  training  and  instruction. 
A.  D.  1835,  the  Brothers  of  St.  Joseph  undertook  the  care  of 
neglected  boys  and  trained  them  to  become  able  craftsmen, 
tradesmen  and  farmers.  Ten  years  later  the  Brothers  of  St. 
Vincent  de  Paul  undertook  the  supervision  of  apprentices  and 
labor  unions.133  At  this  time  the  enthusiastic  Don  Bosco,  in 
spite  of  misunderstandings  and  persecutions,  succeeded  in 
erecting  oratories,  churches,  institutes,  trades  buildings  and 
printing  press  for  his  boys,  thereby  giving  several  millions  of 
neglected  youths  an  opportunity  to  become  good  and  useful 
workers.  The  vocational  character  of  his  work  is  demonstrated 
by  the  fact  that  18,000  apprentices  annually  left  his  Oratories 
to  become  journeymen,  and  that  up  to  the  year  of  his  death,  in 
1888,  six  thousand  of  his  students  had  become  priests.13* 

Victor  Braun,  a  priest  and  contemporary  of  Don  Bosco,  tried 
to  help  women  and  girls,  especially  those  who  worked  in  fac- 
tories; for  this  purpose  he  founded  the  Congregation  of  the 

m  Jessopp,  Augustus,  Before  the  Great  Pillage,  p.  25. 
m  Heimbucher,  Max,  Orden  u.  Kongregationen,  pp.  220-226. 
"•  Ibid.,  pp.  421-422. 
.,  pp.  406-407. 


44      Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

Servants  of  the  Sacred  Heart,  whose  members  conducted  even- 
ing schools,  hospitals,  workhouses,  homes  for  the  aged,  and 
gathered  the  poor  and  neglected  women  around  themselves  for 
Sunday  recreation,135  Two  years  later,  1808,  the  Daughters  of 
Divine  Love  undertook  to  educate  orphan  girls  for  their  future 
career,  to  provide  shelter,  home,  instruction  and  care  for  poor 
girls  seeking  employment  and  an  asylum  for  disabled  serv- 
ants.136 The  Societe  des  missionaires  de  Notre  Dame  des  mis- 
sions d'Afrique  d'Alger,  established  also  in  1868,  had  as  object 
the  instruction  of  orphans  in  agriculture  and  handicrafts.  The 
congregation  of  the  Soeurs  de  Jesus-Marie,  in  Lyons,  which 
came  into  existence  in  1871,  had  a  similar  aim.187  A.  D.  1889 
the  Congregation  of  Devout  Laborers  was  founded  in  Vienne; 
its  object  was  to  care  for  the  physical  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
tradesmen  and  laborers,  and  its  members  took  special  interest 
in  apprentices  and  journeymen  and  secured  for  them  both  prac- 
tical instruction  in  technical  schools,  and  religious  training.138 
The  work  of  these  new  congregations  and  that  of  the  older 
orders  was  seriously  handicapped  at  the  time  of  the  French 
Revolution.  Many  were  temporarily  dissolved,  others  perma- 
nently destroyed.  But  they  had  spread  and  flourished  in  other 
countries  of  Europe  and  in  America,  and  had  gained  a  foothold 
in  Asia.139 

During  the  nineteenth  century  the  need  of  Catholic  schools 
in  the  United  States  was  keenly  felt  and  teaching  communities 
of  Europe,  especially  of  France  and  Germany,  were  requested  to 
supply  the  demand.  The  response  was  generous,  and  though 
laboring  under  many  hardships  and  not  accustomed  to  the 
language  of  the  country,  they  were  most  successful  in  estab- 
lishing schools  in  all  parts  of  the  land.  The  variety  of  local 
conditions  which  increased  during  the  immigration  period,  pre- 
vented the  systematic  organization  of  Catholic  schools.  The 
first  movement  in  this  direction  by  Bight  Rev.  John  Nepomu- 
Neuman,  of  Philadelphia,  in  1852,  was  unsuccessful ;  after 


p.  539. 
.,  p.  461. 
5877&id.,  p.  462. 
'  lUd.,  p.  461. 
9  Hid.,  p.  462. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     45 

the  Civil  War  efforts  toward  securing  greater  unity  of  purpose 
and  action  were  renewed  and  carried  out  successfully.140 

The  curriculum  of  the  Catholic  school  was,  however,  largely 
determined  by  the  needs  of  each  community.  Where  manual 
training  was  demanded  by  the  nature  of  the  work  which  the 
student  intended  to  undertake,  such  training  was  provided  for. 
The  Brothers  of  the  Congregation  of  the  Holy  Cross  opened  a 
manual  labor  school  soon  after  they  had  established  their 
mother  house  and  College,  1841.  Commercial  Academies  and 
Colleges  were  erected  by  the  Brothers  of  the  Christian  Schools 
in  1859  and  I860.141  During  this  period  the  Franciscan  and 
Xaverian  Brothers  had  also  begun  Commercial  and  Industrial 
schools.142  The  teaching  Sisters  aimed  at  training  the  hands, 
as  well  as  the  head  and  heart,  of  the  pupils  placed  under  their 
instruction,  and  taught  them  to  "use  the  needle  as  well  as  the 
pen ;  to  make  and  to  mend ;  to  darn  and  to  knit  and  become  use- 
ful in  the  home."143 

The  missionaries  among  the  Indians,  notably  the  Franciscans 
and  Jesuits,  taught  these  children  of  nature  how  to  build  for 
themselves  permanent  shelters,  how  to  till  the  soil  and  store  a 
supply  for  the  time  of  need.144  All  the  schools  for  Indian  girls 
conducted  by  the  various  Sisterhoods  gave  special  attention  to 
manual  work.  In  respect  to  agriculture  and  other  industrial 
arts  Catholic  educators  were  the  pioneers  in  our  Western 
States.145  The  history  of  the  work  done  by  the  Ladies  of  the 
Sacred  Heart,  the  Sisters  of  Loretto,  and  the  Sisters  of  Provi- 
dence shows  that  the  teaching  of  elementary  academic  branches 
was  accompanied  by  training  in  the  common  industrial  arts. 
The  home  of  the  white  settler  generally  provided  adequately  for 
industrial  training,  and  therefore  comparatively  few  schools 
were  required  to  offer  vocational  subjects  in  their  courses.  In 
schools  for  the  Indians,  however,  manual  work  was  invariably 
a  part  of  the  curriculum  as  a  means  of  helping  the  proper  de- 


140  Burns,  J.  A.,  The  Growth  and  Development  of  the  Catholic  School 
System  in  U.  8.    New  York,  1912,  pp.  199-200. 

141  Ibid.,  pp.  102-108. 
ialbid.,  p.  121. 
"•/Wd.,  p.  125. 

144  Rittenhouse,  M.  F.,  "The  Mission  Play  of  San  Gabriel,"  Catholic 
Educational  Review,  March,  1916,  p.  231. 

148  Burns,  J.  A.,  Growth  and  Development,  etc.,  pp.  152-155. 


46     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

velopment  of  the  child's  mind  and  character  as  well  as  for  the 
practical  benefit  he  was  to  derive  from  it.  The  wisdom  of  pro- 
ceeding in  this  manner  is  now  fully  recognized  and  advocated 
for  other  schools  besides  those  for  the  uncivilized  Indian.  The 
changes  that  have  taken  place  in  the  child's  environment  make 
it  necessary  to  supply  in  the  schoolroom  what  the  industrial 
home  furnished  in  the  past.  This  is  no  less  imperative  in  re- 
gard to  Catholic  schools  than  in  the  state  schools.  Formerly 
knowledge  was  equivalent  to  opportunity  and  was  alone  suffi- 
cient to  enable  an  ambitious  youth  to  advance  from  the  lowest 
to  the  highest  positions  in  political  and  industrial  life.  But 
the  changes  in  the  school  curriculum  have  not  kept  pace  with 
the  altered  condition  of  the  social  world  and  the  evolution  of 
industry.  This  is  the  cause  of  the  present  dissatisfaction  with 
the  entire  school  system,  but  more  especially  with  secondary 
schools,  and  the  attention  of  all  educators  is  directed  toward 
the  readjustment  of  the  curriculum.  John  Dewey  describes  the 
present  situation  as  follows :  "The  problem  is  not  easy  of  solu- 
tion. There  is  a  standing  danger  that  education  will  per- 
petuate the  older  traditions  for  a  select  few,  and  effect  its  ad- 
justment to  the  newer  economic  conditions  more  or  less  on  the 
basis  of  acquiescence  in  the  untransformed,  unrationalized,  and 
unsocialized  phases  of  our  defective  industrial  regime.  Put  in 
concrete  terms,  there  is  danger  that  vocational  education  will 
be  interpreted  in  theory  and  practice  as  trade  education :  as  a 
means  of  securing  technical  efficiency  in  specialized  future  pur- 
suits."146 The  Catholic  schools  face  the  same  problem  and  must 
do  their  share  in  finding  its  solution.  They  have  met  conditions 
in  former  times  with  admirable  success,  and  having  inherent 
in  themselves  that  wonderful  power  of  adaptation  which  the 
Catholic  Church  transmits  to  her  institutions,  the  Catholic 
schools  will  continue  to  offer  their  pupils  the  best  preparation 
for  their  career. 


Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education.    New  York,  1916,  p. 


CHAPTER  III 

WAYS    AND    MEANS    OB     IMPROVEMENT    IN    THE    DEVELOPMENT    AND 
GUIDANCE  OP  VOCATION  IN  CATHOLIC  SCHOOLS 

Current  educational  literature  concerns  itself  with  promot- 
ing the  physical  welfare  of  the  pupil  and  recommends  all 
possible  means  that  might  aid  in  the  development  of  the  indi- 
vidual and  increase  the  economic  efficiency  of  society.  We  look 
in  vain  for  a  higher  motive  than  that  supplied  by  this  materi- 
alistic ideal  which  during  the  last  century  has  completely 
replaced  the  Christian  ideal.147  Men  have  been  led  so  far  from 
the  true  philosophy  of  education  that  they  do  not  understand, 
much  less  heed,  the  principles  that  underlie  Catholic  educa- 
tion, expressed  by  Doctor  Shields  in  these  words :  "Christian 
education  must  never  forget  that  its  chief  business  is  to  trans- 
form a  child  of  the  flesh  into  a  child  of  God."148  Even  as  the 
pagan  world  opposed  the  doctrine  of  the  Great  Teacher,  so  the 
world  of  today  follows  the  standards  and  maxims  based,  not 
on  the  principles  of  Christianity,  but  on  pure  materialism. 
The  "survival  of  the  fittest"  has  come  to  be  the  rule  in  the 
higher  realms  of  man's  endeavor,  as  it  always  has  been  in  the 
plant  and  animal  kingdom.  Outside  the  pale  of  the  Catholic 
Church  other  than  pecuniary  motives  are  seldom  advocated  and 
still  more  rarely  applied.  "Blessed  are  the  poor  in  spirit"  is  as 
little  understood  by  the  majority  of  mankind  today  as  it  was 
by  the  Jews  when  the  lips  of  the  Master  uttered  the  words  for 
the  first  time.  Some  opponents  of  the  Catholic  school  system 
have  even  gone  so  far  as  to  use  the  practice  of  voluntary  pov- 
erty as  an  argument  against  the  efficiency  of  religious  teachers. 
The  same  could  be  said  of  each  beatitude;  meekness  is  deemed 
weakness;  charity  and  willingness  to  pardon  are  called  cow- 
ardice, and  he  who  would  return  good  for  evil  rather  than  re- 
venge a  wrong  or  an  insult  is  styled  a  fool. 

Occasionally  a  voice  raised  in  protect,  warns  against  the 


147  Barnes,  F.  J.,  Education  and  Social  Duty,  C.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1909,  pp. 
77-78. 

148  Shields,  T.   E.,   "Education  as  Adjustment,   Catholic   Educational 
Review,  February,  1916,  p.  107. 

47 


48     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

neglect  to  curb  the  selfish  traits  of  the  individual,  and  insists 
on  the  necessity  to  inculcate  the  opposite  virtue.  So  it  has 
been  remarked  that  the  poster  which  appeals  to  our  young 
men  to  enlist  in  the  navy  for  "an  opportunely  to  see  the  world" 
free  of  charge,  does  scant  justice  to  the  nation.  But  on  the 
whole  very  little  attention  is  given  to  any  other  than  pecuniary 
motives,  either  from  the  standpoint  of  the  individual  or,  less 
frequently,  from  that  of  the  nation. 

Our  children  and  youth  are  continually  exposed  to  the 
dangers  which  the  spirit  of  the  age  has  created.  They  come  in 
daily  contact  with  the  exponents  of  this  utilitarian  philosophy 
which  is  taught  by  various  means  and  in  many  different  forms. 
The  necessary  condition  of  civil  freedom  is  intellectual  enlight- 
enment, "and  our  great  system  of  public  schools  owes  its  ex- 
istence in  large  measure  to  that  conviction.  But,  blinded  by 
our  marvelous  national  development  and  goaded  on  by  an 
insatiable  desire  for  material  advancement,  we  have  come  to 
lay  more  and  more  stress  on  that  utilitarian  view  of  education 
which  makes  the  school  a  work-shop  for  the  molding  of  the 
various  parts  of  our  great  social  machine.  Enlightenment,  in 
the  sense  of  intellectual  development,  is  being  lost  sight  of 
and  moral  training  has  long  since  been  stricken  from  the 
curriculum."149 

The  Catholic  schools  aim  to  counteract  the  pernicious  effect 
of  the  prevailing  trend  of  thought  which  permeates  the  sur- 
roundings of  our  children  like  the  very  atmosphere  in  which 
they  live.  The  only  course  that  the  Catholic  educator  con- 
siders worthy  of  his  attention  is  to  follow  the  Divine  Master  in 
His  methods  and  His  doctrines  as  closely  as  human  frailty 
permits.  Our  Lord's  life  is  the  best  exposition  of  the  truest 
philosophy  of  education  and  His  doctrine  is  the  embodiment 
of  the  most  sublime  truths.  According  to  (His  teaching,  self- 
denial  and  the  eradication  of  selfish  traits  are  requisite  for 
true  progress.  It  were  superfluous  to  indicate  the  numerous 
occasions  on  which  He  taught  this  principle,  both  by  word 
and  example,  for  every  page  of  the  Gospel  illustrates  the  fact. 
How  different  is  the  attitude  of  the  modern  theorist,  who  con- 


149  Barnes,  F.  J.,  Education  and  Social  Duty,  C.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1909, 
pp.  77-78. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     40 

aiders  the  business  of  education  to  be  primarily  "to  equip  the 
individual  for  a  successful  struggle  with  his  physical  and  social 
environments."150 

Catholic  education  does  not  seek  to  suppress  the  progress  of 
the  individual,  nor  to  hinder  the  development  of  his  powers 
and  of  the  resources  of  the  nation.  On  the  contrary,  it  has 
always  aimed  and  still  aims,  to  encourage  and  foster  all  that 
tends  to  the  progress  and  development  of  man,  both  as  an 
individual  and  as  a  nation.  The  abolition  of  slavery  and  the 
recognition  of  the  equality  of  men,  or  in  other  words,  the 
underlying  principles  of  democracy,  were  due  to  the  influence 
of  the  doctrine  of  Christ.  And  though  it  took  many  centuries 
of  heroic  struggle  and  fearful  hardships  on  the  part  of  His 
disciples,  the  victory  was  won  in  the  course  of  time.  Even  a 
brief  history  of  the  Church  and  her  educational  institutions 
demonstrates  that  she  always  "nourished  into  vigor  all  the 
capacities  and  faculties  of  man."151  But  in  so  doing  she  was 
ever  vigilant  lest  the  welfare  of  her  children  be  imperiled  by 
the  selfish  designs  of  those  who  wielded  power  over  their  fel- 
lowmen.  The  people  were  taught  to  respect  the  spiritual 
authority,  regardless  of  the  fact  that  the  person  in  whom  it 
was  vested  was  not  of  the  nobility,  but  frequently  the  son  of  a 
poor  laborer,  a  precept  that  must  have  been  both  novel  and 
disagreeable  to  a  people  who  regarded  the  members  of  the  work- 
ing class  so  far  inferior.  On  the  other  hand,  those  who  held 
the  scepter  were  urged  to  practice  the  Christian  virtues,  espec- 
ially justice  and  mercy.  A  study  of  conditions  after  several 
centuries  of  Christian  teaching  and  example  reveals  the  benefit 
extended  to  all  people,  as  long  as  her  aims  are  not  thwarted  by 
the  perversity  of  men  and  governments.152 

The  Church  always  exhorted  her  children  to  the  practice  of 
self-denial,  for  this  is  the  foundation  upon  which  the  welfare  of 
society  is  built.  Obedience  to  law  and  authority  are  not  pos- 
sible where  self-will  is  uncurbed;  yet  obedience  is  one  of  the 
fundamental  requisites  for  the  preservation  of  the  individual,  of 
society,  and  of  the  race.  Our  system  of  Catholic  schools  in  the 

"•  Shields,  T.  E.,  Philosophy  of  Education,  Washington.  1917,  p.  359. 
'•'  Ibid.,  p.  372. 

1§!  Eckenstein,  L.,  Women  Under  Monaxticism,  p.  223.  Also  Denk, 
Otto,  Oeschichte  des  Gallo-Frankischen  Unterrichts,  p.  241. 


50     Vocational  Preparation  o/  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

United  States  is  possible  only  as  a  result  of  disinterested  sup- 
port and  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  laity  and  teaching  commun- 
ities. They  were  called  into  being  because  under  existing 
conditions  the  state  schools  could  provide  only  the  intellectual 
training  of  the  child,  completely  ignoring  religious  and  moral 
education.  The  school  that  neglects  to  develop  these  import- 
ant faculties  of  the  child's  mind  does  not  prepare  him 
adequately  for  his  life  work.  "If  education  is  to  prepare  youth 
for  contact  with  this  (constantly  changing)  environment,  it 
must  build  up  a  character,  a  power  of  will  and  action,  strong 
enough  to  resist  the  onset  of  evil,  steady  enough  to  pursue  the 
right  amid  all  temptation."153 

As  means  to  this  end  the  Catholic  schools  employ  the  incul- 
cation of  virtue,  especially  love  for  fellow-men  and  obedience 
to  law  and  authority.  These  are  possible  only  when  the  in- 
dividual has  learned  to  deny  his  self-interests  and  curb  his 
selfish  tendencies.  Therefore  the  first  step  in  the  development 
of  vocation  consists  in  firmly  implanting  unselfishness  in  the 
heart  of  the  child.  Where  this  virtue  has  taken  root  and  has 
produced  the  kindred  virtue  of  charity,  obedience  and  piety, 
there  is  no  room  for  passions  whose  influence  would  prevent 
the  Divine  Call  from  being  heard  and  heeded.  The  Catholic 
schools  exist  to  aid  the  development  of  the  child's  physical, 
intellectual,  and  moral  powers,  that  he  may  accomplish  his  life 
work  and  attain  to  external  happiness.  The  methods  employed 
to  achieve  this  result  vary  with  different  ages,  nationalities, 
temperaments,  and  customs  of  peoples;  but  the  underlying 
principle  remains  the  same,  for  the  uniform  aim  of  all  Catholic 
schools  is  to  inculcate  virtue  and  to  eradicate  vice.  In  this  they 
follow  the  example  of  Christ,  for  as  He  adapted  His  teaching 
in  method  and  practice  to  the  needs  and  capacities  of  those 
whom  He  taught,  exhorted  men  to  a  virtuous  life,  and  con- 
demned vice  and  evil,  so  do  also  the  educational  institutions 
of  the  Catholic  Church.154  This,  precisely,  is  the  fundamental 
requisite  for  the  development  of  vocation. 

Though  the  principles  of  Catholic  education,  being  those  of 
the  Divine  Master,  cannot  be  surpassed  by  any  others,  the 


183  Shields,  T.  E.,  "The  Teaching  of  Pedagogy  in  the  Seminary,  C.  E. 
A.  Proc.,  1905,  p.  234. 

134  Pace,  E.  A.,  "Education,"  Catholic  Encyclopedia,  Vol.  5,  p.  300. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     51 

ceaseless  change  of  social  conditions  may  often  necessitate  a 
change  in  the  method  of  their  application,  so  as  to  yield  the 
most  efficient  result  in  a  given  case.  Our  children  must  be 
prepared  to  meet  and  conquer  the  difficulties  that  threaten  to 
thwart  their  happiness,  or  lessen  their  efficiency.  There  is  no 
reason  why  our  pupils  should  not  be  better  prepared  than  those 
of  any  other  school ;  on  the  contrary  there  is  every  reason  why 
they  should  be  more  capable  than  any  others  because,  by  their 
training  in  obedience  and  self-conquest,  pupils  of  the  Catholic 
schools  develop  strength  of  will  to  aid  them  in  overcoming 
the  obstacles  in  their  way.  The  opportunity  for  the  eradication 
of  evil  tendencies,  the  inculcation  of  virtue  by  precept  and 
example,  are  advantages  that  the  pupil  of  the  Catholic  school 
enjoys  from  the  time  he  enters  the  primary  room  until  he 
graduates  from  the  College  or  University.  And  these  are  so 
important  for  the  future  citizen  that  they  outweigh  any  other 
advantage  that  can  be  offered  by  any  other  school.  However,  if 
in  the  state  schools  the  children  derive  some  temporal  benefit 
which  our  system  lacks,  the  Catholic  educator  is  willing  and 
eager  to  profit  by  what  is  really  good  as  readily  as  he  learns 
by  that  which  is  erroneous  and  pernicious. 

When  writing  of  the  school  for  truants  E.  J.  Lickley  made 
the  statement  that  "Not  only  is  an  elaborate  equipment  not 
necessary  in  a  special  school,  but  it  is  practically  useless 
during  this  period  of  growth  of  the  troublesome  boy.  Not  an 
elaborate  plant,  not  an  elaborate  equipment,  but  an  elaborate 
teacher  is  essential  to  the  boy  who  is  out  of  step."155  But  the 
elaborate  teacher  is  equally  essential  to  the  boy  "who  is  in 
step"  so  that  he  may  not  be  in  danger  of  directing  his  steps  in 
the  wrong  way.  Here  again  the  advantage  is  all  on  the  side 
of  the  child  who  attends  the  Catholic  school,  for  he  is  under  the 
care  and  guidance  of  a  teacher  who  is  in  the  schoolroom  because 
prompted  by  the  highest  motives;  namely,  obedience  to 
superiors  who  are  God's  representatives ;  and  Christian  charity 
which  stimulates  the  desire  to  serve  each  child  as  a  representa- 
tive of  Him  Who  lived  among  mankind  as  a  Child.  Among 
the  teachers  of  the  state  schools  there  are  many  noble,  unselfish 


™  Lickley.  E.  J..  "Successful  Schools  for  Truants,"  The  Psycholog- 
ical Clinic,  Vol.  VII,  No.  3.  May.  1913,  p.  86. 


52     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

characters,  who  have  entered  the  educational  field  and  continue 
to  labor  there  for  altruistic  motives.  However,  this  cannot  be 
affirmed  of  the  entire  class,  nor  even  of  the  majority.156  But 
in  the  religious  teacher  the  child  daily  and  hourly  sees  the 
living  example  of  self-denial,  the  continuous  illustration  of 
Christ's  admonition  to  His  loved  ones,  "If  any  man  will  follow 
me,  let  him  deny  himself."157  Moreover,  with  his  God-given 
intuitive  powers  the  child  recognizes  that  the  highest  form  of 
happiness  is  not  only  compatible  with,  but  is  directly  con- 
sequent to,  disinterested  labor. 

It  has  been  previously  indicated  how  potent  is  the  formation 
of  lofty  motives,  high  ideals  of  manhood  and  womanhood, 
of  citizenship,  and  Christian  duties  toward  men  and  toward 
God.  Every  Catholic  school  aims  to  do  this  and  tends  toward 
improvement  in  the  methods  employed  to  carry  out  this  noble 
purpose.  The  first  and  most  important  step  in  this  direction 
is  to  establish  unity  in  the  system  of  Catholic  schools,  for 
"Unity  is  strength;  it  is  the  mark  of  the  Catholic  Church; 
unity  is  the  characteristic  of  everything  carried  on  success- 
fully in  American  spheres,  and  unity  should  be  the  mark  and 
strength  and  soul-inspiring  principle  of  Catholic  education  in 
America."158  As  has  been  indicated  above,  attempts  to  bring 
about  this  unity  have  been  made  even  before  the  Civil  War; 
these  efforts  were  then  frustrated;  but  they  have  been  again 
undertaken,  and  the  success  achieved  during  the  last  decade  is 
very  encouraging. 

Union  among  Catholic  institutions  should  be  readily  ac- 
complished since  our  religion  provides  a  unifying  principle,  and 
because  we  are  united  under  the  authority  of  the  Catholic 
hierarchy.  The  movement  toward  unification  is  progressing 
steadily  in  proportion  to  the  appreciation  of  its  importance. 
The  Catholic  Educational  Association  is  bending  its  efforts 
to  that  end,  and  among  other  successes  in  this  direction  the 
affiliation  of  Catholic  High  Schools,  Academies,  and  Colleges, 
with  the  Catholic  University  of  America  is  significant.  At  the 


158  Partridge,  G.  E.,  Genetic  Philosophy  of  Education.  New  York,  1912, 
p.  224. 

m  Mark,  IX,  34. 

1M  Right  Reverend  Monsignor  O'Connell,  Address  to  Delegates,  C.  E. 
A.  Proc.,  1905,  p.  30. 


\  <>cutl<>nal  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     5o 

present  time  there  are  one  hundred  thirty-six  of  these  institu- 
tions on  the  affiliated  list  and  the  number  is  continually 
growing.  Very  much  remains  to  be  done  before  the  work  of 
unification  is  completed  but  even  in  its  early  stages  it  can 
be  made  a  powerful  factor  for  promoting  the  welfare  of 
Catholic  students,  for  "No  teacher,  no  body  of  teachers,  relig- 
ious or  lay,  has  a  monopoly  of  the  best  educational  thought."18* 
Closer  union  cannot  fail  to  make  known  more  generally  the 
good  accomplished  by  our  teachers  and  to  inspire  pupils  and 
teachers  with  a  wholesome  pride  in  regard  to  what  has  been 
done  and  with  greater  zeal  to  equal  and  to  surpass  those  whose 
example  is  worthy  of  imitation.  The  closer  the  union  of  our 
educational  forces  will  become,  the  stronger  will  be  their 
influence,  and  our  ideals  of  true  and  noble  manhood,  of  pat- 
riotism, and  above  all,  of  a  worthy  child  of  Holy  Mother 
Church,  will  command  the  respect  of  all  men,  will  stimulate 
to  heroic  effort  our  youths  and  maidens  who  are  soon  to  take 
their  places  in  the  industrial  and  social  world. 

The  effect  of  this  unity  on  the  development  of  vocation  is 
indirect,  as  is  also  that  of  the  teacher's  example  and  the  early 
training  in  Christian  virtue.  But  because  indirect  it  is  none 
the  less  potent.  When  we  reflect  on  the  importance  of  the  lofty 
motives  that  influenced  the  workmen  in  the  early  Middle  Ages 
we  realize  the  value  of  cultivating  the  highest  ideals  in  our 
schools.  Our  schools  must  supply  proper  motivation  for  the 
choice  of  a  life-work,  the  method  for  preparation,  and  for  all 
the  acts  of  the  pupils;  proper  motivation  is  the  right  kind  of 
stimulus  for  the  pupil  to  continue  in  school  until  he  has  ob- 
tained the  desired  end,  or  at  least  as  long  as  circumstances 
will  permit.  While  there  are  no  available  statistics  as  to  the 
number  of  our  children  leaving  Catholic  schools  at  an  early 
age,  without  having  completed  even  the  elementary  course,  we 
may  assume  that  our  boys  and  girls  have  tendencies  very 
similar  to  those  attending  the  state  schools.  In  this  instance 
we  can  utilize  the  experience  gained  by  the  officials  of  these 
schools  and  learn  to  what  dangers  their  children  are  exposed, 
and  what  measures  should  be  taken  in  order  to  counteract,  or  if 


168  Gibbons,    E.    F.,    "School    Supervision — Its    Necessity,    Aims    and 
Methods,"  C.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1905,  p.  166. 


54     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

possible,  prevent  the  evil  that  ensues.  One  of  the  means  uni- 
versally and  most  urgently  recommended  by  the  authorities 
in  the  state  schools  is  to  keep  the  child  in  school  if  at  all 
possible.  The  desirability  of  extending  the  time  of  compulsory 
school  attendance  until  the  pupil  is  at  least  16  years  old  has 
led  to  provide  for  it  by  legislation  in  a  few  states.  The 
arguments  in  favor  of  this  regulation  are  that  children  below 
this  age  are  not  able  to  enter  the  field  of  industrial  labor  with- 
out endangering  their  physical  and  moral  welfare;  that  the 
employer  finds  such  children  undesirable;  that  the  influence 
of  the  school  in  aiding  the  proper  development  of  the  child's 
character  is  more  necessary  at  this  impressionable  age  than 
at  any  other  period  of  his  life.  Therefore  the  vocational  guid- 
ance movement  is  concerned  chiefly  with  encouraging  children 
to  continue  their  studies,  or  to  resume  school-work  if  it  has 
been  interrupted.  This,  however,  is  only  one-half  of  the  prob- 
lem solved;  if  the  child  is  constrained  to  spend  his  time  in 
school  against  his  inclination  it  is  doubtful  whether  he  is 
benefited  by  the  opportunity  this  further  training  offers.  He 
must  be  interested  in  his  school  work,  either  because  it  is  at- 
tractive, or  because  he  sees  its  utility  and  necessity. 

It  is  about  the  age  of  twelve  that  school  and  its  duties  become 
irksome  to  the  child,  and  this  is  the  time  to  place  before  him  for 
serious  consideration  the  need  of  preparing  for  a  definite  future 
career.  This  does  not  mean  that  the  pupil  should  make  a 
definite,  and  as  it  were,  irrevocable  choice.  It  matters  less 
whether  at  this  age  he  decides  to  become  a  carpenter  or  a 
doctor,  an  engineer  or  a  priest.  But  it  matters  a  great  deal 
to  convert  his  objective  interest  into  subjective  interest,  and 
to  convince  him  that  for  success  in  his  future  work  he  needs 
just  exactly  what  the  school  gives  him  now.  There  is  nothing 
lost  if  the  child  later  changes  his  plan  and  decides  to  enter 
another  occupation.  Indeed  it  is  quite  natural  that  he  should 
change  his  opinion  many  times  within  the  next  six  or  eight 
years.  The  object  sought  is  that  he  direct  his  school  work 
toward  a  definite  aim,  for  with  an  end  in  view  he  does  his  work 
more  conscientiously,  more  thoroughly,  and  more  willingly 
than  he  would  otherwise.  Work  so  performed  reacts  upon  him 
and  aids  in  the  formation  of  character. 


Vocational  I' reparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     5"> 

If  our  work  in  developing  vocations  and  assisting  our 
children  to  prepare  for  their  life-work  is  to  be  successful,  we 
must  use  direct  as  well  as  indirect  means.  The  first  part  of  the 
problem  is  to  be  solved  by  the  teachers  in  the  elementary 
grades.  If  the  child  has  been  taught  a  proper  appreciation  of 
his  duties,  and  the  germ  of  vocation  has  received  the  nourish- 
ment necessary  for  its  development,  the  preliminary  work  has 
been  done.  In  this  work  the  teachers  receive  valuable  aid 
from  the  use  of  suitable  text-books,  such  as  the  Catholic 
Education  Series.  These  have  as  a  conscious  aim  the  prepara- 
tion of  the  child  for  the  present  and  the  future,  by  stimulating 
into  action  those  faculties  of  the  child  that  tend  to  elevate  him 
to  the  highest  citizenship  and  lead  him  to  his  true  destiny, 
making  his  whole  life  a  blessing  to  his  fellow-man.  With  these 
or  similarly  constructed  books,  the  teacher's  task  of  laying  the 
foundation  for  future  vocational  guidance  is  not  difficult.  The 
authors  of  these  books  aim  to  secure  the  complete  development 
of  all  the  faculties  of  the  child,  and  for  that  reason  every 
lesson  has  been  selected  with  the  utmost  care  so  that  in  it 
are  enfolded  in  germinal  form  the  great  truths  that  future 
years  are  to  unfold.  To  prepare  the  child  for  citizenship  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  the  ultimate  end  and  therefore  each 
lesson  directs  the  child  toward  that  goal  and  leads  him  toward 
the  attainment  of  such  ideal  citizenship.  To  do  this  it  is  nec- 
essary to  prepare  the  child  for  ideal  citizenship  in  the  state. 

There  is  in  these  books  a  parallel  to  the  work  done  in  the 
monasteries;  the  monastic  institutions,  while  aiming  at  the 
sanctification  of  their  members,  succeeded  in  the  transforma- 
tion of  a  barbarous  people  into  a  veritable  beehive  of  industry 
and  order,  producing  artisans  and  artists  in  large  numbers, 
and  securing  intense  love  of  home  and  country ;  so  likewise  the 
aim  in  this  series  is  to  keep  in  view  the  eternal  destiny  of  the 
child,  preparing  him  for  it  most  efficiently  by  teaching  him  to 
do  well  his  present  work.  The  child  is  led  to  see  that  con- 
formity to  the  will  of  God  leads  to  the  realization  of  temporal 
and  eternal  happiness;  on  the  other  hand,  adherence  to  self- 
will,  in  opposition  to  God's  will,  leads  to  grief  and  destruction. 
Thus  is  created  the  proper  attitude  toward  choosing  a  vocation, 
long  before  the  actual  choice  must  be  made.  Later  the  value  of 


56     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

suffering  and  the  need  of  courage  to  meet  difficulties  are 
emphasized,  the  foundation  for  good  citizenship  and  patriotism 
is  securely  laid,  and  finally  the  child  is  prepared  for  the  study 
of  history  and  literature. 

By  this  time  the  child  is  ready  for,  and  in  need  of,  explicit 
direction  in  regard  to  his  future  work.  The  Gospel  narrative 
of  the  Child  Jesus  in  the  Temple  teaches  us  as  no  other 
authority  can,  the  importance  of  this  act  in  the  child's  life. 
Christ's  mission,  or  vocation,  is  decided  from  all  eternity,  but 
since  He  taught  by  example  even  more  than  by  precept,  He  saw 
fit  to  proceed  in  such  wise  that  we  may  learn  how  He  would 
have  us  choose  our  life  work.  He  makes  His  choice  at  the  age  of 
twelve  in  the  Temple,  the  great  school  not  alone  of  the  Jews,  but 
of  all  nations;  in  the  presence  of  the  Doctors,  the  teachers 
of  divine  and  human  law ;  and  in  answer  to  the  inquiry  of  His 
parents,  the  ideal  representatives  of  all  parents  to  whom  God 
vouchsafes  the  happy  privilege  of  entrusting  to  them  His  be- 
loved little  ones.  Moreover,  after  publicly  announcing  His 
future  work  by  the  words  "did  you  not  know,  that  I  must  be 
about  my  father's  business?",  He  returned  to  Nazareth  "and 
was  subject  to  them,"  and  He  "advanced  in  wisdom,  and  age, 
and  grace  with  God  and  men."160  The  lesson  is  complete;  it 
indicates  the  time,  or  age,  at  which  the  child  should  begin  to 
contemplate  seriously  the  necessity  of  choosing  a  vocation; 
the  motive  that  should  govern  the  choice,  namely  the  will  of 
His  heavenly  Father ;  the  institutions,  Church,  school  and  home, 
that  should  influence  so  important  a  decision ;  and  finally  the 
need  of  long  and  careful  preparation  that  is  necessary  for  the 
successful  pursuit  of  any  calling.  The  Catholic  teacher  may 
use  other  motives  to  supplement,  but  never  to  supplant,  this 
highest  motive.  The  ability  to  acquire  wealth,  to  occupy  an 
honored  position  in  society,  to  secure  domestic  happiness,  to 
be  able  to  help  and  comfort  others,  are  valuable  as  aids  and 
productive  of  much  good  if  rightly  used.  But  the  teachers 
need  to  guard  their  pupils  against  the  prevalent  tendency  of 
our  times,  and  beware  lest  the  spirit  of  commercialism  intrude 
itself  and  replace  the  high  ideal  of  Catholic  manhood  and 
womanhood. 


360  Luke,  II,  52. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     57 

When  the  child  by  previous  training  is  disposed  to  accept  as 
his  model  for  imitation  the  Child  Jesus  in  the  Temple  it  will 
not  be  difficult  for  the  teacher  to  indicate  by  what  means  the 
child  should  learn  what  kind  of  work  God  had  destined  him  to 
perform.  Children  should  be  taught  that  natural  preferences 
and  the  capacity  for  special  work  are  not  merely  accidental, 
but  are  gifts  from  their  heavenly  Father  to  Whom  they  are 
responsible  for  the  right  use  of  all  gifts,  namely  for  His  glory 
and  their  own  salvation;  that  they  can  accomplish  this  only 
by  employing  their  faculties  for  the  welfare  of  their  fellow- 
men.  Children  will  readily  understand  that  the  will  of  their 
parents  is  frequently  the  safest  guide  for  them  to  do  the  will 
of  God,  and  therefore  they  are  inclined  to  imitate  the  obedient 
Youth  Jesus,  their  model. 

The  most  difficult  part  of  the  lesson  is  to  teach  the  child  to 
realize  the  necessity  of  patient  and  painstaking  preparation. 
Impatient  of  anything  that  appears  as  useless  delay  and  waste 
of  time,  the  youth  would  rather  make  haste  and  finish  his  school 
work  in  the  shortest  possible  time.  Catholic  and  non-Catholic 
educators  attempt  to  lengthen  the  child's  school  life  by  estab- 
lishing high  schools  and  encouraging  attendance  at  these. 
Only  a  small  per  cent  of  the  pupils  who  have  finished  the  grades 
avail  themselves  of  the  opportunity  thus  afforded,  though 
these  schools  are  maintained  at  the  cost  of  considerable  sac- 
rifice on  the  part  of  Catholics,  for  their  equipment  incurs 
greater  expense  than  that  of  the  grade  school.  The  growth  in 
the  number  of  Catholic  high  schools  during  the  last  decade 
proves  the  imperative  need  of  establishing  means  for  a  length- 
ened school  term  for  our  boys  and  girls.  Every  teacher  should 
aim  to  increase  the  number  of  pupils  in  these  schools  for 
thereby  he  assists  in  the  work  of  preparing  children  for  their 
life-work. 

The  comparatively  small  high  school  attendance  at  the 
present  time  may  be  due  to  various  causes;  the  usual  reason 
is  that  the  pupil  does  not  see  the  relation  of  his  work  at  school 
to  that  which  he  intends  to  take  up  later,  and  is  inclined  to 
regard  the  time  spent  in  the  high  school  as  just  so  much  time 
lost.  The  state  high  schools,  in  order  to  attract  and  retain 
their  pupils,  have  altered  their  curriculum  so  as  to  adapt  the 
course  to  local  conditions;  the  usual  aim  now  is  to  fit  the 


58     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

pupil  for  a  career,  rather  than  prepare  him  for  college,  since 
those  who  have  the  opportunity  or  inclination  for  further  study 
are  very  few  in  comparison  to  the  number  whose  school  days 
are  over  on  their  graduation  from  high  school.  Here  again  we 
can  learn  from  the  state  schools;  both  from  their  success  and 
their  failure.  The  too  great  eagerness  with  which  some  of  them 
tried  to  meet  the  desires  and  needs  of  the  different  classes  of 
pupils  led  to  the  introduction  of  a  multiplicity  of  subjects  and 
electives,  even  in  the  first  years  of  the  high  school  course. 
Where  no  provision  was  made  for  proper  guidance,  the  pupil 
being  left  to  choose  whatever  courses  appealed  to  him,  it  was 
inevitable  that  he  should  choose  impractical  combinations. 
These  pupils,  on  entering  their  field  of  labor,  found  that  they 
had  obtained  little  or  no  profit  from  their  high  school  course ; 
their  experience  made  known  to  others  persuaded  many  child- 
ren not  to  invest  their  time  in  secondary  education. 

On  the  other  hand,  too  great  rigidity  in  adhering  to  a  tra- 
ditional course,  without  any  regard  for  the  practical  needs  of 
the  pupil,  likewise  serves  to  lessen  the  attendance  at  some 
schools.  Unless  the  child  while  still  in  the  grades  has  been 
directed  to  see  the  necessity  of  more  than  immediate  prepara- 
tion for  a  career,  the  few  years  spent  in  the  high  school  seem 
too  long  and  so  unrelated  to  his  future  work  that  he  is  un- 
willing to  undertake  it.  The  teacher  must  convince  the  pupils 
and  their  parents  by  concrete  examples  that  a  well  organized 
high  school  course  is  more  beneficial  than  one  that  offers  many 
attractions,  but  cannot  claim  results  like  those  obtained  in 
some  of  our  schools.  Reverend  M.  J.  Dorney,  discussing  the 
paper  "Catholic  Education  Above  Grammar  Grades,"  indicated 
the  various  occupations  followed  by  the  former  pupils  of  his 
high  school  and  then  adds :  "If  there  is  one  thing  that  makes 
me  proud  of  our  high  school  it  is  this,  that  every  single  boy 
that  has  graduated  from  my  school  occupies  a  position  so  far 
superior  to  that  his  father  held  that  there  is  no  comparison; 
and  that,  to  me,  is  the  justification  of  that  education,  develop- 
ing them,  making  them  better  socially.  Every  single  boy  that 
has  graduated  from  my  high  school  in  sixteen  years  has  achieved 
success  in  the  vocation  in  life  to  which  he  was  attracted."161 


181  Dorney,  M.  J.  [Discussions],  "Catholic  Education  Above  Grammar 
Grades,"  C.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1911,  p.  181. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic,  Schools     59 

The  state  schools,  acting  on  the  principle  that  the  high 
schools  are  to  prepare  pupils  for  work  rather  than  to  be  the 
feeders  of  colleges  and  universities,  provide  for  instruction  in 
vocational  branches.  The  methods  employed  and  the  extent  in 
which  this  is  done,  vary  greatly  in  different  sections,  but  the 
effect  on  our  system  is  decided  and  inevitable.  The  subjects 
offered  attract  the  child  by  their  very  novelty,  and  where  im- 
mediate application  demonstrates  their  utility,  encouragement 
to  attend  these  classes  is  unnecessary.  The  Catholic  schools, 
limited  in  regard  to  financial  resources,  cannot  provide  similar 
courses,  at  least  not  on  the  same  scale;  but  provision  must  be 
made  for  our  pupils  so  that  they  may  not  suffer  any  disadvan- 
tage while  they  enjoy  the  benefits  of  a  Catholic  education. 

The  overemphasis  of  utilitarian  aims  is  by  no  means  praise- 
worthy and  is  rather  likely  to  defeat  its  own  end  in  the  course 
of  a  few  decades,  besides  lowering  the  standard  of  the  school 
and  hindering  complete  development  of  the  pupil.  However, 
we  may  not  ignore  the  causes  and  effects  of  this  widespread 
movement  and  while  counteracting  its  evil  influence,  we  may 
use  it  as  a  source  of  information  to  the  benefit  of  our  own 
schools.  "Patient,  cheerful,  methodic  work  through  worthy 
motives — if  the  child  have  these  qualifications,  we  will  have 
done  well  by  him  and  may  rest  easy  as  to  his  fitness  for  his 
life-work."162  Since  the  early  dawn  of  Christianity  this  has 
been  the  aim  of  Catholic  education;  still  we  must  use  direct, 
or  particular  means,  in  order  to  avoid  vocational  failures 
whenever  possible;  the  number  of  misfits  in  life  may  be  at 
least  considerably  reduced  by  systematic  and  united  efforts, 
though  no  system,  however  much  improved  and  perfected  it 
may  be,  is  able  to  prevent  all  failures. 

The  direct  preparation  for  the  child's  vocation  begins  in  call- 
ing his  attention  to  the  need  of  making  a  choice  and  directing 
his  efforts  toward  adequate  preparation  for  his  career.  The 
value  of  cultivating  habits  of  "patient,  cheerful,  methodic 
work"  should  be  pointed  out  by  the  teacher.  The  child  should 
learn  what  relation  exists  between  work  done  at  school  and  in 
later  life.  There  is  a  vocational,  as  well  as  a  moral  and  his- 


1112  Brother  Luke  Joseph,  F.S.C.,  "Our  Children  and  Their  Life  Work," 
.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1911,  p.  301. 


60     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

torical,  value  in  the  biographies  of  men  and  women  who  have 
conquered  the  obstacles  in  their  way  to  success.  The  worthy 
motives  that  actuated  these  heroic  souls  and  won  for  them 
the  esteem  and  gratitude  of  their  fellowmen  will  prove  power- 
ful incentives  for  imitation.  The  teacher  can  form  the  basis 
for  further  preparation  by  means  of  biographical  sketches  and 
familiar  incidents.  Before  leaving  the  elementary  school  the 
child  should  be  convinced  that  careful  preparation  is  necessary 
for  any  but  the  lowest  forms  of  unskilled  labor  and  that  he 
will  receive  valuable  aid  for  his  future  work  by  the  course 
offered  in  the  secondary  schools. 

With  comparatively  few  exceptions  our  pupils  take  their 
respective  places  in  the  field  of  labor  after  they  have  finished 
their  high  school  course,  and  more  frequently  before  they 
have  completed  it.  Our  first  efforts,  therefore,  must  be  to 
increase  the  number  of  graduates  and  to  give  them  the  best 
preparation  for  their  career.  The  pupils  should  be  encour- 
aged to  keep  in  view  a  definite  purpose  during  the  years  spent 
in  the  high  school,  and  to  make  their  studies  a  means  to  that 
end.  The  teacher,  being  in  daily  and  intimate  contact  with 
the  pupil,  has  the  earliest  opportunity  to  learn  his  aptitudes 
and  preferences  in  regard  to  work.  In  some  instances  our 
Catholic  children  have  the  benefit  of  a  home  in  which  they 
can  exercise  their  ingenuity  at  various  kinds  of  manual  work, 
and  here  both  parent  and  child  are  quick  to  detect  any  marked 
ability  for  a  certain  line  of  work.  The  encouragement  that 
comes  from  this  knowledge  is  sufficient  incentive  to  direct  the 
child's  interest  toward  this  work  and  prompts  him  to  select 
it  as  his  pursuit,  for  he  realizes  that  his  aptitude  will  help  him 
to  succeed,  and  success  brings  with  it  contentment  and  pleas- 
ure. But  even  here  guidance  and  advice  from  experienced 
persons  are  necessary  for  the  child  during  his  course  of  prep- 
aration; no  child  can  be  expected  to  be  able  by  a  process  of 
reasoning  to  conclude  that  the  cultivation  of  a  special  aptitude 
must  have  as  a  foundation  a  thorough  knowledge  of  general 
studies.  The  teacher,  whose  study  and  experience  enable  him 
to  prove  that  this  is  not  merely  a  theory  but  a  demand  in  the 
industrial  and  professional  world,  must  supply  for  the  want 
of  foresight  and  reasoning  in  the  child,  and  sometimes  in  his 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     61 

parents.  The  teacher  can,  with  some  preparation,  also  be  the 
safest  guide  to  direct  the  course  which  the  child  should  pursue 
in  order  to  obtain  the  desired  training  for  his  life-work. 

The  great  majority  of  our  children  at  the  present  time  are 
not  in  home  surroundings  that  would  aid  them  in  discovering 
their  ability  or  in  fitting  them  for  a  career  by  any  kind  of 
apprenticeship.  Therefore  this  work  rests  upon  the  school,  and 
the  teacher  must  do  what  lies  in  his  power  to  direct  the  pupils. 
Since  the  various  branches  in  high  school  are  taught  by  different 
teachers,  it  is  possible  that  no  one  may  consider  the  vocational 
guidance  of  the  pupils  as  his  work  or  duty,  and  therefore  it  is 
of  great  importance  to  provide  for  it  systematically  and  to  con- 
tinue this  work  which  has  been  begun  in  the  grades.  A  knowl- 
edge of  child-psychology  and  child-character  is  essential  on 
the  part  of  every  teacher,  and  this  knowledge  should  be  used  to 
promote  the  child's  welfare,  not  only  while  he  is  under  the 
teacher's  immediate  direction,  but  also  to  influence  his  career 
for  the  future.  Every  lesson  taught  should  deepen  the  child's 
conviction  that  what  a  man  accomplishes  in  the  course  of  his 
life  depends  more  upon  what  he  is  than  upon  what  he  does. 
The  manner  in  which  a  man  performs  his  work,  not  the  occupa- 
tion in  itself,  is  of  greatest  importance.163  The  artisan  of  the 
Middle  Ages  who  fashioned  the  most  inconspicuous  detail  of 
some  great  cathedral  knew  well  that  no  human  eye  would  be- 
hold his  work  after  it  had  been  located  in  its  destined  place. 
Still  he  worked  skillfully  and  patiently,  rejoicing  in  the  reward 
offered  by  the  consciousness  of  labor  well  performed.  Every 
teacher  has  countless  opportunities  to  show  his  pupils  that 
inconsistency  is  most  often  the  cause  of  failure,  while  con- 
sistency and  perseverance  lead  to  success. 

Frequent  talks  on  the  value  of  the  respective  subjects,  their 
relation  to  other  subjects,  and  their  bearing  on  the  various 
pursuits,  should  be  given  by  teachers  and  occasionally  by  some 
prominent  professional  or  business  man  to  pupils  and  their 
parents.  When  parents  are  convinced  of  the  advantages  that 
result  from  a  prolonged  term  of  study,  they  wield  a  powerful 
influence,  both  directly  by  their  admonition,  and  indirectly  by 


1M  Chrysostom.  Brother,  The  Pedagogical  Value  of  Faith,9'  etc.,  Phil- 
adelphia, 1915,  p.  79. 


Ci'2     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

their  sympathetic  attitude  toward  school  and  teachers.  The 
need  of  giving  this  information  to  parents  and  pupils  is  greater 
now  than  it  ever  has  been.  The  educated  man  can  readily  dis- 
cern the  weak  points  of  a  system  that  aims  to  obtain  only 
remunerative  results  in  the  commercial  world.  Not  so  the 
average  laboring  man,  and  still  less  his  son,  whose  natural 
impatience  to  escape  the  discipline  of  the  school,  makes  him 
more  eager  to  imitate  those  who  devote  the  shortest  possible 
time  to  preparation  for  their  work.  Then  too,  the  current 
literature  and  the  attitude  of  many  educational  leaders  have 
been  instrumental  in  creating  a  tendency  to  undervalue  the 
need  of  careful  and  prolonged  training  based  on  broad  general 
culture.  To  correct  the  erroneous  views  which  keep  many  from 
preparing  themselves  thoroughly  for  their  calling  and  so  to 
diminish  their  future  usefulness  and  happiness,  it  is  necessary 
to  instruct  our  youth  and  demonstrate  the  utility  of  the  courses 
that  are  offered.  The  paper  entitled  "The  Classics — A  Prepar- 
ation for  a  Professional  and  Business  Career"164  contains  the 
kind  of  information  that  should  be  made  available  for  all  the 
pupils  of  Catholic  schools  and  also  for  their  parents.  Too  often 
the  pupil's  impatient  question  "Of  what  use  is  this  to  me?" 
is  left  unanswered,  or  is  answered  curtly  without  convincing 
him;  as  a  result  he  frames  his  own  answer,  dictated  by  his 
likes  and  dislikes,  and  he  is  not  inclined  to  lengthen  his 
course  of  study.  Very  few  boys  realize  how  much  is  to  be 
gained  by  attendance  at  school  until  experience  has  taught 
them  the  value  of  such  training,  but  this  experience  is  a  very 
wasteful  teacher  and  is  apt  to  bring  home  the  lesson  after  it  is 
too  late  to  repair  the  loss. 

The  defects  in  the  present  state  school  system  are  not  suf- 
ficiently evident  to  be  noticed  by  the  pupil  and  the  average 
parent,  who  are  satisfied  with  the  immediate  result;  it  may 
take  a  decade  or  two  before  they  learn  by  observation  and 
experience  what  the  educated  and  thinking  men  foresaw  would 
follow  as  the  logical  consequence.  The  note  of  warning  uttered 
by  these  should  be  transmitted  to  the  children  who  are  looking 
forward  to  the  time  when  they  shall  be  ready  to  enter  upon 


1M  Burrows,  A.  J..  "The  Classics— A  Preparation  for  a  Career,"  C.  E. 
A.  Proc.,  1909,  p.  208. 


Vocational  r reparation  of  Youth  hi  (V/f//o//V  Kchoolx      (i:> 

their  respective  occupations.  Under  present  conditions  the 
sound  philospohy  of  our  leading  Catholic  educators  is  rarely 
made  known  to  the  pupils  or  their  parents  to  whom  the 
apparent  advantages  of  a  short  period  of  preparation  seem  most 
desirable.  For  various  reasons  many  of  our  children  have 
been  deprived  of  the  benefit  that  secondary  "education  in 
our  schools  would  have  procured  for  them ;  the  present  tendency 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  affored  by  an  industrial 
or  technical  training  will  prove  an  additional  cause  to  pat- 
ronize the  elaborately-equipped  state  schools  rather  than  the 
Catholic  schools.  Until  adequate  provision  has  been  made  in 
our  system  for  vocational  training  each  teacher  must  exert 
his  influence  to  induce  our  children  to  continue  their  educa- 
tional work.  He  must  try  to  make  our  schools  so  attractive 
and  efficient  that  there  will  be  no  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
pupils  to  attend  any  other  school.  It  is  often  possible  to 
arrange  the  course  in  a  secondary  school  so  as  to  offer  some 
electives  with  a  view  to  the  best  interests  of  the  children.  This 
plan  is  more  easily  carried  out  where,  on  account  of  local 
conditions,  most  of  the  students  in  attendance  intend  to  follow 
the  same  career. 

What  the  Vocational  Guidance  Bureau  attempts  to  do  for 
the  state  schools  can  be  accomplished  more  efficiently  in  our 
educational  system  if  the  clergy  and  the  teachers  recognize  the 
utility  of  such  a  movement  and  lend  their  united  efforts  to 
support  it.  Mutual  cooperation  between  school  and  home,  and 
an  organized  system  are  necessary  to  make  the  guidance  of 
pupils  a  success.  While  every  teacher  may,  and  should,  aid 
in  preparing  pupils  for  their  life-work,  there  should  be  in  every 
secondary  school  some  one  who  more  particularly  devotes  his 
time  and  energy  to  the  vocational  guidance  of  the  pupils.  This 
is  necessary  to  avoid,  on  the  one  hand,  duplication  of  effort, 
and  on  the  other,  partial  or  complete  neglect. 

Among  the  efficient  and  accessible  means  at  the  disposal  of 
one  who  is  to  guide  the  young,  may  be  mentioned  suitable  lit- 
erature. There  is  a  wealth  of  material  in  biographies  that 
could  well  be  used  in  connection  with  vocational  guidance. 
Children  take  delight  in  reading  books  whose  form  and  content 
are  adapted  to  the  age  and  temperament  of  the  reader.  The 


04     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

lives  of  heroes  and  saints  might  well  form  the  basis  of  a  course 
that  gradually  leads  to  more  specific  instruction  on  vocational 
subjects.  Literature  that  gives  information  on  the  various 
occupations,  the  requirements,  the  advantages  it  offers,  and  the 
disagreeable  features  or  harmful  effects  it  may  have,  is  easily 
obtained  for  any  school  without  great  expense,  and  should  be 
productive  of  much  good.  The  greatest  benefit  derived  from  it 
is  not  the  practical  knowledge  that  it  may  give,  nor  even  the 
help  it  may  offer  to  the  child  in  choosing  a  desirable,  and 
avoiding  an  undesirable  occupation.  Important  as  this  may  be, 
the  information  gained  in  regard  to  the  value  of  thorough 
preparation  and  the  need  of  a  broad  general  knowledge  of 
subjects,  which  to  the  child  seemed  unrelated  to  the  work, 
is  of  greater  importance  at  his  age. 

In  connection  with  collateral  reading  the  teacher  may  learn 
the  child's  aptitude,  his  desires  and  hopes  for  the  future,  from 
his  work  in  composition;  and  he  may  use  this  knowledge  to 
direct  the  pupil's  efforts  in  regard  to  the  method  by  which 
he  determines  to  reach  the  coveted  end.  After  learning  what 
are  the  inclinations  of  the  pupils  the  advisor  should  tactfully 
use  this  information  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  them  on 
the  relative  value  of  occupations.  He  must  raise  to  a  higher 
level  the  standard  of  those  whose  attention  is  fixed  upon  an 
occupation  that  has  no  enduring  interest  and  is  of  no  genuine 
importance.  (He  must  aim  to  substitute  a  higher  ideal  and  to 
convince  the  children  that  among  the  numerous  occupations 
open  to  them,  only  those  that  are  marked  by  essential  im- 
portance and  that  contribute  to  the  welfare  of  their  fellow-men 
will  be  found  to  be  satisfactory  and  to  lead  to  true  happiness.165 

Sometimes  a  child  may  resolve  to  enter  a  career  for  which  he 
is  ill  fitted  by  natural  endowments.  Here  again  the  vocation 
counsellor  can  judge  with  relative  certainty  as  to  the  absence 
of  requisite  qualities,  and  with  comparative  safety  direct  the 
hopes  and  ambitions  of  such  pupils  toward  occupations  better 
suited  to  their  capabilities.  This  must  needs  be  done  with 
great  care  and  tact  so  as  not  to  discourage  the  child.  Much  of 
the  misery  that  exists  at  the  present  time  is  due  to  industrial 
"misfits,"  which  could  have  been  avoided  by  the  advice  of 


'"Henderson,  C.  H.,  "What  Is  It  to  Be  Educated?"  Boston,  1914,  p.  383. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     65 

teachers  and  parents.  On  the  other  hand  we  must  remember 
that  no  one  can  safely  choose  an  occupation  for  the  child,  and 
that  lack  of  ability  is  often  more  than  compensated  for  by 
strong  determination  and  great  love  for  an  occupation.  Ex- 
perience abundantly  shows  that  where  teachers  and  parents 
have  at  times  disapproved  of  a  career  because  of  the  apparently 
unsurmountable  difficulties,  the  child,  in  fact,  succeeded  even 
better  than  his  more  talented  rival,  his  lack  of  capability  being 
more  than  counterbalanced  by  determined  perseverence.  This 
should  be  a  warning  to  us  not  to  insist  on  persuading  from 
their  course  such  children  as  show  unwavering  determination 
to  follow  a  certain  vocation.  The  best  service  we  can  render 
such  children  is  to  cultivate  their  taste,  raise  their  standard 
to  a  higher  level  and  infuse  lofty  motives  for  choosing  a 
vocation. 

The  relative  value  of  occupations  might  well  be  made  the 
subject  of  a  formal  debate  by  the  class.  This  would  impress 
the  advantages  and  disadvantages  more  deeply  than  merely 
reading  about  them,  for  the  interest  that  a  debate  arouses 
among  the  students  does  not  usually  subside  very  quickly 
and  may  be  utilized  by  the  counsellor  toward  further  efforts. 
An  occasional  lecture  by  the  pastor  or  a  citizen  on  vocation 
in  general,  or  on  a  specific  calling,  would  prove  valuable.  Gen- 
eral vocational  intelligence  is  also  gained  by  means  of  excur- 
sions to  industrial  plants,  to  manual  training  and  vocational 
schools.  Since  all  but  the  lowest  forms  of  unskilled  labor  pre- 
suppose the  completion  of  at  least  a  high  school  course  or  its 
equivalent,  it  can  not  be  too  strongly  emphasized  that  all 
pupils  be  encouraged  to  avail  themselves  of  this  opportunity. 
It  may  be  desirable  that  every  child  finish  the  college  course 
before  he  enters  upon  his  life-work,  but  this  is  impossible  at 
present;  and  unless  the  courses  in  our  school  system  be  con- 
siderably altered,  it  is  highly  improbable  for  the  time  to  come. 
The  fuller  years  and  broader  experience  would  insure  the  choice 
of  a  permanent  vocation,  for  "the  discovery  of  capacity  and 
aptitude  will  be  a  constant  process  as  long  as  growth 
continues."166 

The  state  schools  in  their  eagerness  to  attract  the  pupils  and 


Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  p.  363. 


G6     Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

to  provide  the  industrial  training  that  appeals  to  the  child, 
completely  ignore  the  danger  lurking  in  early  specialization. 
John  Dewey  warns  against  the  evil  that  must  result  from  this 
condition  and  says :  "If  even  adults  have  to  be  on  the  lookout 
to  see  that  their  calling  does  not  shut  down  on  them  and  fos- 
silize them,  educators  must  certainly  be  careful  that  the 
vocational  preparation  of  youth  is  such  as  to  engage  them  in  a 
continuous  reorganization  of  aims  and  methods."167 

When  the  child  has  chosen  a  professional  career,  the  direct 
preparation  does  not  begin  until  he  has  received  a  general  edu- 
cation which  is  sufficiently  broad  to  serve  as  a  safe  foundation 
for  the  narrower  specialized  training.  But  only  a  small  per 
cent  of  pupils  choose  professional  callings,  and  the  great  ma- 
jority must  also  be  provided  for  by  the  schools.  In  the  state 
schools  this  is  being  done  by  establishing  various  classes  of 
schools  which  offer  industrial  training.  Catholic  educators  are 
considering  just  what  should  and  can  be  done  in  our  schools 
in  regard  to  vocational  training.  As  a  rule  the  splendid  work 
done  by  our  Catholic  Colleges  and  Academies  in  vocational  edu- 
cation is  not  appreciated  as  it  deserves,  perhaps  because  it  is 
not  called  by  any  such  high-sounding  name.  These  schools  have 
taught  with  a  view  to  prepare  teachers  of  music  and  art;  they 
had  commercial  and  normal  departments;  they  trained  the 
girl  to  be  a  successful  home-maker,  and  both  youth  and  maiden 
received  the  preparation  necessary  for  the  religious  vocation. 
It  is  doubtful  whether  these  schools  were  fully  aware  of  the 
fact  that  they  were  doing  for  many  decades,  some  for  centuries, 
what  the  state  now  deems  to  be  so  necessary  for  the  pupils.  It 
is  still  more  doubtful  whether  they  realize  further  possibilities 
that  lie  within  their  power.  So,  for  instance,  many  of  these 
institutions  do  their  own  printing,  but  rarely  make  use  of  it  as 
a  means  of  teaching  any  but  the  members  of  the  community  the 
technicalities  of  the  trade.  Similarly  other  occupations,  car- 
pentry, plumbing,  bookbinding,  agriculture,  horticulture,  and 
a  number  of  arts  and  trades,  differing  with  the  locality  in  which 
the  school  is  situated,  and  the  means  at  its  disposal,  might  be 
utilized  in  vocational  education. 

Day   schools    are   not    generally    thus    equipped;    still   our 


le:  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  p.  363. 


Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools     67 

secondary  schools  might  find  little  difficulty  in  making  ar- 
rangements with  local  industrial  establishments.  These  are 
interested  in  the  problem,  and  some  of  the  stronger  among  them 
have  organized  definite  schools  to  instruct  and  train  their  own 
apprentices.168  All  employers  are  convinced  of  the  need  of 
better  preparation  for  their  future  employees,  but  compara- 
tively few  can  afford  to  give  them  this  training  under  present 
conditions.  If  the  pastors  and  superintendents  of  our  Catholic 
schools  would  endeavor  to  obtain  the  cooperation  of  employers 
in  each  locality,  their  combined  efforts  would  do  much  toward 
the  satisfactory  solution  of  the  problem  in  that  particular  re- 
gion. Incidentally  it  would  help  to  restore  a  healthy  condition 
between  capital  and  labor  which  has  been  practically  lost  in 
modern  times.  In  some  localities  part-time  or  continuation 
schools  would  be  most  acceptable  to  the  employer,  and  most 
profitable  to  the  children.  Pupils  could  see  more  clearly  the 
need  of  mental  power  in  connection  with  technical  skill  and 
therefore  would  be  willing  to  apply  themselves  diligently  to 
their  tasks  at  school. 

The  work  of  teachers  and  superintendents  would  necessarily 
be  increased  by  vocational  guidance,  and  arrangements  with  em- 
ployers, since  the  capacities  and  inclinations  of  the  children 
must  be  continually  guided  and  guarded  so  as  to  avoid  what 
John  Dewey  calls  "fossilizing."169  But  our  Catholic  teachers 
are  willing  to  make  sacrifices,  and  will  gladly  bear  the  added 
burdens  if  by  doing  so  they  can  aid  the  children  whom  they 
consider  their  God-given  charges.  Besides,  the  marked  effect 
produced  on  the  impressionable  character  of  children  by  the 
exercise  of  their  faculties  in  useful  work,  and  by  the  realiza- 
tion of  responsibility,  is  in  itself  sufficient  recompense  to  the 
teacher  for  additional  labor. 

To  these,  and  similar  means  to  obtain  vocational  training  for 
our  pupils,  the  objection  is  sometimes  offered  that  the  school 
work  must  necessarily  be  of  inferior  quality  when  the  pupil's 
time  is  divided  between  study  and  actual  work.  Experience 
has  shown  that  the  contrary  results  obtain.  Both  in  the  history 


'"Harvey,  L.  D.,  "The  Need  of  Industrial  Education  In  the  Public 
School  System,"  N.  E.  A.  Proc.,  1909,  p.  58. 
»*  Dewey,  John,  Democracy  and  Education,  p.  363. 


68      Vocational  Preparation  of  Youth  in  Catholic  Schools 

of  the  past,  and  in  the  lives  of  our  contemporaries  we  find  ample 
evidence  that  "to  get  the  poorest  results  possible  in  the  three  IPs 
it  is  only  necessary  to  limit  the  teaching  to  the  three  K's."170 
Pestalozzi  says,  "I  am  more  than  ever  convinced  that  as  soon 
as  we  have  educational  establishments  combined  with  work- 
shops, and  conducted  on  a  truly  psychological  basis,  a  genera- 
tion will  necessarily  be  formed  which  will  show  us  by  experience 
that  our  present  studies  do  not  require  one  tenth  of  the  time  or 
trouble  that  we  now  give  to  them."171  Pestalozzi's  theory  is 
verified  by  the  history  of  Monastic  schools  in  which  manual 
labor  formed  an  important  part  of  the  course ;  and  modern  edu- 
cational literature  fairly  teems  with  examples  which  prove  that 
pupils  who  spend  some  time  in  the  acquisition  of  manual  skill, 
far  from  doing  less  or  inferior  work  than  their  fellow-pupils 
not  so  engaged,  are,  as  a  rule,  the  most  successful  students. 
Since  the  revelation  of  the  child's  especial  power  can  be  made 
only  by  the  operative  processes  it  is  of  utmost  importance  to 
furnish  an  environment  which  will  give  him  adequate  oppor* 
tunity  to  exercise  his  faculties.172 


m  Gregory,  B.  C.,  Better  Schools,  p.  129. 

"'Graves,  Frank  P.,  Great  Educators  of  Three  Centuries,  New  York, 
1912,  p.  130. 

m  Gregory,  B.  C.,  Better  Schools,  p.  258.  Also,  Henderson,  C.  H., 
What  Is  It  to  Be  Educated?"  p.  181. 


CONCLUSION 

If  home,  school,  and  Church  unite  their  efforts,  and  present 
to  the  child  the  highest  ideal  as  the  motive  for  his  life-work; 
and  by  systematic  training  of  hand,  head,  and  heart,  help  him 
to  realize  this  ideal,  the  work  of  development  and  guidance  of 
vocation  shall  have  been  achieved.  The  consequent  effect  will  be 
far  beyond  what  at  the  present  time  is  apparent.  The  conclud- 
ing words  in  "The  People's  School"  appear  to  be  a  fitting  close 
to  this  chapter.  "The  problem  of  vocational  training  is  also 
more  profound  than  preparing  men  and  women  to  work.  It 
is  to  educate  the  public  mind,  to  employ  a  working  ideal  that 
will  gradually  transform  industrial  practice,  until  labor,  no 
longer  cramping  and  brutalizing,  is  a  beautiful  realization  of 
the  noblest  human  possibilities;  until  the  old  words  of  the 
Benedictine  Rule  take  on  their  fullest  meaning,  and  to  work  is 
verily  to  pray."178 


Weekly  Ruth  M.,  The  People's  School,  p.  193. 


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VITA 

Sister  Mary  Jeanette  Koesch  was  born  in  Einsiedl,  Bohemia, 
January  13,  1884.  Her  elementary  education  was  received  in 
the  rural  schools  of  Stearns  County,  Minnesota.  In  1901  she 
was  graduated  from  St.  Benedict's  Academy,  St.  Joseph,  Min- 
nesota, and  continued  her  studies  at  the  St.  Cloud  Normal 
School  and  the  University  of  Minnesota.  After  teaching  six 
terms  in  the  public  schools  of  that  state  she  entered  the  no- 
vitiate of  the  Benedictine  Convent,  St.  Joseph,  Minnesota,  in 
1908.  The  following  year  she  completed  the  collegiate  course, 
and  for  three  years  was  assistant  teacher  at  St.  Mary's  High 
School,  St.  Cloud,  Minnesota.  The  scholastic  year  of  1912-1918 
and  the  following  summer  school  term  were  spent  in  residence 
at  the  Catholic  Sisters  College,  Catholic  University  of  America, 
where  she  received  the  degree  Master  of  Arts.  During  the  next 
three  years  she  taught  at  St.  Benedict's  College,  St.  Joseph, 
Minnesota.  The  academic  years  1916-1917,  and  1917-1918  were 
again  spent  in  residence  at  the  Catholic  Sisters  College,  Cath- 
olic University  of  America.  The  principal  courses  pursued  in 
her  graduate  work  were  in  education  under  the  Very  Reverend 
Doctor  Shields,  to  whom  the  writer  is  indebted  for  the  subject  of 
her  thesis,  and  to  whom  she  is  pleased  to  express  her  gratitude 
for  helpful  suggestions  and  encouragement.  The  courses  under 
Reverend  Doctor  McCormick  and  Doctor  O'Connor,  as  well  as 
those  of  other  members  of  the  faculty,  were  a  source  of  valuable 
information  and  inspiration  to  the  writer. 


73 


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